Austria to build jail in Romania
AP in Vienna Wednesday January 28, 2004 The Guardian
Romanians sentenced to jail by Austrian courts will do their time back home in a prison built by Austria, authorities said yesterday. Government officials said it was a start to cutting the growing number of eastern Europeans in domestic jails since borders opened following the end of communist rule 15 years ago in Austria's eastern neighbours. They described it as a pilot project which could be followed by similar agreements with other eastern European countries but declined to be more specific. The officials said they expected the EU, which is overseeing prison reforms in Romania, to have a role in supervising standards in the Austrian-built jail. There is relatively strong anti-foreigner sentiment in Austria, where the rightwing Freedom party of Jorg Haider is part of the government coalition. One rightwing member of parliament recently suggested that the idea could be extended to countries such as Nigeria, which has an abysmal human rights record. Such statements, and the fact that prisons are often crowded and insanitary in Romania, led some human rights organisations to criticise the plan yesterday. "In Romania, they have inmates sharing beds," said Michaela Klemens of Amnesty International's Austrian branch.
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http://www.guardian.co.uk/international/story/0,3604,1132613,00.html