COPENHAGEN: Denmark will expel non-Danish citizens who have served prison terms of a year or more for serious crimes, part of new measures to tighten immigration policy, the government announced Friday.
“Foreign offenders sentenced to at least one year in prison for serious crimes, such as aggravated assault and rape, should, in principle, be expelled,” the immigration ministry said in a statement.
Under current regulations, expulsions are not automatic, as Denmark complies with international conventions protecting the right to private and family life and forbidding inhumane treatment.
The Scandinavian country has, together with Britain, recently called on Europe to reform the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR), which safeguards fundamental freedoms.
“It is right and necessary for European countries to sit around a table and say that we prefer to protect our countries rather than protect offenders,” Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen told journalists.
“When international rules were drafted, I don’t think anyone imagined that someone would flee the Middle East to come to the best country in the world and start raping girls and women,” she said.
“At the time, it was absolutely not imagined that the victim would become the perpetrator. And I can assure you that, unfortunately, many of them have,” she said.
According to statistics from the immigration ministry, around 70 percent of foreign nationals sentenced to prison terms of one year or more for serious crimes have been expelled.
In addition, the government — which insisted that “refugees must be in Denmark on a temporary basis” — plans to boost incentives for voluntary returns and to tighten rules for foreigners in departure centers.
Denmark also said Friday it would reopen its embassy in Syria and establish cooperation with Afghanistan.
In the departure centers, some foreigners who fail to comply with their reporting requirements will be required to wear electronic ankle tags.
The reforms are expected to take effect on May 1.