The UK has signed a compulsory prisoner transfer agreement with Ghana to allow transfer of prisoners between each country.
Signed during a visit to the West African nation by international development minister Grant Shapps, the agreement provides for the transfer of prisoners with or without their consent, subject to approval by the receiving state.
Signing the agreement with the Ghanaian Deputy Attorney-General, Grant Shapps said:
Removing foreign national offenders is a key priority for the British Government and the agreement I have signed this morning plays an important role in supporting this from now on.
This is also a further example of the close relationship between the UK and Ghana and underlines our commitment to remove prisoners who have no right to remain in the United Kingdom.
This is an important achievement for the UK and will be the latest such compulsory agreement the UK has with another country. The Government is committed to negotiating further compulsory transfer agreements wherever it can.
This arrangement will support the rehabilitation and reintegration of prisoners from both countries into the communities in which they will live.
The Federal Republic of Nigeria and the United Kingdom signed similar agreement providing for the transfer of prisoners between the two States on 10 January 2014.
The Agreement allows Nigerians who commit crimes in the United Kingdom, and Britons who commit crimes in Nigeria, to serve their sentences in their own country, where they can be properly prepared for release into the community in which they will live following their release.
Both the Federal Republic of Nigeria and the United Kingdom have in place prisoner transfer arrangements with a number of other countries. The signature of this Agreement builds on the already close links between the two countries in the criminal justice field. A special joint committee of officials will oversee the implementation of this Agreement.
It is expected that the first prisoners will be transferred under this Agreement before the end of 2014.
Above photo: The Federal Republic of Nigeria and the United Kingdom signed an agreement providing for the transfer of prisoners between the two States in 2014
