Solitary confinement in the papal states

Solitary confinement in the papal states

Prison door is opened © Friso Gentsch

The Vatican prison is not exactly bursting at the seams: There is currently a single prisoner incarcerated there. A new international agreement allows the Papal States to transfer convicts to other countries more easily than before.

The Vatican has joined an international agreement on the execution of sentences. According to the Vatican Press Office on Friday, the Holy See acceded to the Council of Europe Convention on the Transfer of Sentenced Persons of 21. March 1983 at.

In an additional declaration to the agreement, the Holy See refers to the special situation of the Vatican State and its citizenship.

Imprisonment in the home country should contribute to resocialization

The agreement will make it easier for the Vatican State to transfer convicts abroad in the future. The main purpose of the Council of Europe Convention is to enable offenders to serve their sentences in their home countries in the interests of better rehabilitation.

The Holy See deposited the corresponding instruments of accession and ratification already in mid-January through its special representative to the Council of Europe, Paolo Rudelli. The Convention and an Additional Protocol enter into force for the Vatican City State on 1. May into force.

Only one convict in Vatican prison

Currently in Vatican custody is an Italian priest sentenced to five years in prison for child pornography in June.

The latest international agreement is one of several that the Vatican has signed recently. This also included international agreements on finances – for example, against money laundering.

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