Valdaru argues that while this was not always the case, nowadays Estonia is a safe country to live in with a low crime rate, low incarceration rate and with none of the "no-go areas," real or perceived, that can be found in some other first world nations and their cities.

Then again, state finances are not in the best of shape, making the prison rental scheme from countries with overcrowding problems such as the U.K. or the Netherlands seem like an attractive deal, not to mention a pragmatic use of Estonia's under-used penitentiaries.

However, this should not be done in haste, the Reform MP writes, identifying five risks in the policy which for him include the "Islamization" of Estonian prisons even if the incoming prisoners come from other European and/or NATO states – given the extent to which inmates originally from some Islamic countries are represented in some of those countries prison populations.

The other major risks are: Estonia becoming a "Rwanda" for criminals, evoking a now-scrapped U.K. plan to deport asylum seekers to that central African nation; immigration, in any case, surging in Estonia as a result of the deal; a lack of resources in Estonia to deal with unforeseen circumstances arising from the scheme, and, finally, costs outstripping revenues.

Kert Valdaru is a member of the Reform Party.

The full opinion piece published on Postimees' English-language portal is here.

Minister of Justice and Digital Affairs Liisa Pakosta (Eesti 200) has said that renting out Estonian prison cells, primarily in Tartu Prison, could bring in around €30 million per year to state coffers. Meanwhile, the U.K. has reported practically a crisis in prison capacity, leading to offenders being released earlier than initially planned in some cases.

In addition to Tartu, Estonia has two other prisons, in Tallinn, and in Jõhvi (Ida-Viru prison).

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