Swedish prisoners arrive in Estonia under jail deal

The first four Swedish prisoners arrived Tuesday at a prison in Estonia under a deal aimed at easing pressure on Sweden's overcrowded jails, Estonia's prison service said.

The inmates will serve their sentences under a 2025 agreement that allows Sweden to rent prison cells in Estonia for up to 600 offenders.

The prison service said the prisoners arrived on a charter flight at Amari air base before being transferred under armed escort to a prison in the eastern city of Tartu. It said the transfer and imprisonment proceeded as planned and without incident.

All transferred inmates are screened by both countries beforehand, with Estonian authorities approving each case individually. Under the deal, organised crime group members, convicted terrorists, radicalised inmates, women and minors are excluded from transfer.

Estonian authorities said up to 100 Swedish prisoners are expected to arrive at Tartu prison by the end of September and up to 200 by the end of the year.

Sweden has seen a surge in violent crime in recent years, including shootings and bomb attacks linked to feuds between rival criminal gangs.