Prisoner swap deals tipped with KL, Kiev

Thailand will likely reach an agreement with Malaysia and Ukraine on prisoner transfers within the 2020 fiscal year, according to the director-general of the Corrections Department.

Pol Col Naras Savestanan said the department is determined to extend prisoner transfer agreements to other countries.

Prisoner transfers are part of a cooperation deal under the justice administration process and in line with the rehabilitation process for prisoners, he said.

International transfers allow prisoners to be closer to their families and relatives in a familiar environment which helps them prepare for their eventual return to society, he added.

Currently, Thailand has bilateral prisoner transfer treaties with 38 countries including France, Spain, Canada, Italy, the US, Britain, Sweden and Germany.

Thailand has transferred 1,199 foreign inmates back to their countries of origin to serve the remainder of their sentences since the introduction of the treaty, Pol Col Naras said, adding that a total of 106 foreign prisoners have been transferred in 2019.

According to the director-general, three Thai inmates were transferred from China and Japan to serve their time in Khlong Prem Prison. They were the first Thai prisoners returned home since efforts were initiated in 2012.

The transfer of prisoners is based on a number of criteria including whether the recipient country is a consenting member of the Convention on the Transfer of Sentenced Persons treaty.