Enforcement of remand imprisonment

‍A district court may order a person to be remanded when the person is suspected of a serious offence and the police want to hold the suspect in custody for over four days.

Remand prisoners have to be placed in a separate remand prison or in a ward in a closed prison separate from prisoners serving a sentence. They have to be given an opportunity to be accommodated separate from other remand prisoners, in full or in part, if they have reasonable grounds to believe that their personal safety is at risk. Exceptions to separate placement may be made with the consent of the remand prisoner if it does not endanger the purpose of remand imprisonment.

In the prison, remand prisoners cannot be placed in the same cell with other remand prisoners if this endangers the purpose of remand imprisonment or prison order. Under 18-year-old remand prisoners have to be kept separate from adult remand prisoners unless it is in their best interests to act otherwise.

Remand prisoners are not obliged to participate in activities such as work or studies organised by the prison. If they wish to participate in the activities, the prison has to enable participation, if possible. However, remand prisoners cannot be given permission to carry out civilian work referred to in chapter 8, section 6 of the Imprisonment Act or study permission or permission for supervised activities outside prison referred to in section 9 of the same chapter.

Restrictions of communications with the outside world, such as family and friends, are imposed on remand prisoners to avoid the risk of influencing the investigation. Nevertheless, they have the right to be in contact with their defence counsel.

A remand prison is a closed prison for remanded persons. The primary focus is on securing the proper conduct of criminal investigations and judicial proceedings. For this reason, remand prisoners’ communications with the outside world and other prisoners may be more restricted than in other prisons.

Intensified travel ban and house arrest

Intensified travel ban and house arrest, which are alternatives to remand imprisonment, were taken into use at the beginning of 2019.

The court may impose an intensified travel ban, which is monitored by technical means, on a suspect before the sentence is passed. The police is responsible for the implementation of an intensified travel ban and the Prison and Probation Service for its technical monitoring.

Instead of remanding a person sentenced to under two years of unconditional imprisonment, the court may place the person under house arrest. House arrest ends at the latest when the enforcement of the sentence begins. The Prison and Probation Service is responsible for the enforcement and monitoring of house arrest.