Märgukiri

Dear Madame Minister,

On behalf of the Children of Prisoners Europe (COPE) network, I would like to thank the Ministry of Justice and Digital Affairs for the constructive and open cooperation we have developed over recent years to strengthen the protection of the rights and wellbeing of children with a parent in custody.

We particularly value the Ministry’s commitment to raising these issues higher on the agenda, through our joint efforts to work more closely with prison and probation services. The training sessions which COPE delivered in 2022 for prison and probation officers on the rights and needs of children when separated from a parent in prison, as well as the Ministry’s launch in October 2025 of a family-based approach training for prison staff, represent important and commendable steps forward.

This spirit of cooperation was further reinforced during the very positive and constructive cross-sectoral meeting hosted by the Ministry in Tallinn in November 2025, where representatives from the Prison Service, the Social Insurance Board and civil society discussed practical ways to improve children’s experiences when visiting a parent in prison. We welcome the Ministry’s proposal to continue this work in 2026, including the organisation of a practical seminar for prison officers focused on better supporting children and understanding their experiences.

It is precisely in this context of close collaboration and shared commitment that we wish to raise concerns regarding the impending arrangement to transfer individuals currently held in Swedish prisons to Estonian prisons to serve their sentences.

COPE is particularly concerned that this arrangement risks leading to a deterioration of visiting rights and actual visiting opportunities. Families of imprisoned persons are very often already in a financially vulnerable situation. Requiring them to bear the full cost of international travel, possible accommodation, and—in the case of long-term visits—fees for premises, food and other supplies, creates a substantial barrier to maintaining regular in-person contact.

We note that Estonia stands out within the EU for having a statutory requirement that long-term family visit costs are borne by the prisoner or visitor, with no state-subsidised free alternative. Swedish families would therefore be subject not only to international travel expenses, but also to prison-related fees that they would not incur if visits took place in Sweden.

While we recognise the increasing availability of video calls, it is essential to stress that remote communication cannot replace in-person contact, particularly for children. The Council of Europe Committee of Ministers’ Guidelines CM/Rec(2018)5 concerning children with imprisoned parents make clear that video calls must be an additional means of communication, not a substitute for in-person contact, and that assistance should be provided where families lack the financial means to maintain communication. The European Court of Human Rights has likewise repeatedly underlined the importance of regular, ongoing contact between children and a parent in custody, and has found violations of Article 8 of the Convention in situations where distance and practical barriers rendered such contact ineffective. In its judgment in Deltuva v. Lithuania, the Court explicitly examined visiting rights from the perspective of children’s rights and highlighted the negative impact of missed visits on children.

This is not solely a matter of the rights of people in prison, but fundamentally the right of children to maintain regular and direct contact with a parent who is in prison. Estonia therefore also bears a responsibility to ensure that children affected by these transfers have guaranteed and genuine opportunities for in-person contact.

In this light, COPE respectfully encourages consideration of solutions that would enable family visits without imposing additional financial burdens on families. Such solutions could include, for example:

* the development by Sweden of a dedicated support scheme to cover travel and accommodation costs for family visits—COPE will highlight this in its correspondence with the Swedish Justice Ministry;
* the waiving by Estonia of visit-related fees for prisoners transferred from Sweden or the inclusion of these costs within the overall invoicing to Sweden;
* ensuring that video calls are available in all relevant prisons as a supplement, while clearly maintaining in-person visits as the cornerstone of parent–child contact.

COPE remains fully committed to continuing its constructive engagement with the Ministry, the Prison Service and Swedish counterparts on this issue. We firmly believe that thoughtful and cooperative dialogue can help ensure that the Estonian–Swedish prison arrangement reflects not only operational considerations, but also the shared European commitment to protecting children’s rights, wellbeing and development.

We look forward to continuing our joint work in 2026 and would welcome the opportunity to further discuss these concerns and potential solutions.

Yours respectfully,

Liz Ayre