Foreign citizens in Russian colonies are to be sent back to their homeland

The authorities of Russia have come up with a new way to prevent riots and hostage-taking in prisons.

According to Russian media, the Federal Penitentiary Service (FSIN) is mass-offering foreign prisoners to serve their sentences in their home countries. This way, the authorities aim to prevent riots and hostage-taking in prisons.

FSIN employees in prisons are approaching prisoners from Ukraine, Belarus, Central Asian countries, including Tajikistan, as well as Western countries with an offer to write consent for repatriation to serve their sentences.

According to observers familiar with the situation, the leadership of the penitentiary service decided to deport convicted foreigners from all correctional facilities, fearing a repeat of recent terrorist attacks in the pre-trial detention center in Rostov-on-Don and the colony in the Volgograd region.

Currently, according to media reports, three citizens of Kyrgyzstan are awaiting repatriation. In addition to citizens from former Soviet countries, two citizens of the United States, convicted on drug trafficking and allegedly rape charges, have also submitted requests for repatriation in this colony.

It is still unknown whether all foreigners will be sent back to their home countries to serve their sentences. For example, Polish citizen Marian Radzaevski was sentenced to 14 years in a colony for espionage in 2019, and he was also offered to sign consent. However, there is no procedure for transferring prisoners under this article to serve their sentences in their home countries. Usually, such prisoners are exchanged for other prisoners.

Previously, the authorities of Russia attempted to recruit foreign prisoners to participate in the war in Ukraine.