Britain will pay Albania at least £4m a year to bring back 200 of its most dangerous prisoners under a deal ratified between the two governments.
According to British media outlet Telegraph, the UK Government will give Albania 5 million euros (£4.4 million) to pay for prison renovations, extra security, staff, rehabilitation equipment and guard training.
There will be a joint supervision group to prevent ill-treatment of prisoners. The Albanian government will draw up an annual report on the prisoners and their conditions, while the UK government will have the right to carry out physical checks. Either country may terminate the agreement with two months’ prior written notice.
Among the 200 transferred are 17 prisoners with life sentences, including Koci Selamaj, 36 years old, the killer of teacher Sabina Nessa, 28 years old.
He was sentenced to 36 years in prison for murdering the teacher in a park in south-east London. He has so far served just two years, meaning the UK will pay Albania £400,000 to keep him imprisoned for the remaining 34 years of his sentence.
The removal of Albanian prisoners will help alleviate the overcrowding crisis in British prisons, but will also save British taxpayers’ money at the same time.
