Denmark to house foreign criminals on tiny island used for animal testing
Parliament passes scheme affecting 100 criminals who cannot be deported despite UN criticisms

Denmark’s parliament has approved funding for a plan to keep foreign criminals that have completed their jail sentences on a tiny island despite criticism from the UN and human rights groups.
The country’s government, “which is taking an increasingly tough stance on immigration”, according to The Guardian, wants to send up to 100 people who have completed jail sentences but cannot be deported because they are at risk of torture or execution in their home countries to the island of Lindholm.
It claims those who are deemed to be criminals, pose a national security concern or have “other relevant reasons” but cannot be deported for legal reasons will be moved to a facility on Lindholm, which had in the past been reserved for experiments on animals.
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
“The residents of the return centre will be foreigners, who due to criminality, national security concerns or other relevant reasons are excluded from residence permit as refugees, but who cannot be returned to their country of origin due to the risk of ill-treatment,” the government announcement said.
“They are unwanted in Denmark, and they will feel that,” the immigration minister, Inger Stojberg, wrote on Facebook.
The Danish People’s Party “celebrated the announcement of the policy by posting a cartoon on social media showing a dark-skinned man with a beard being dumped onto a desert island”, reports The Independent.
Alongside the image, the party wrote: “Deported, criminal foreigners have no reason to be in Denmark. Until we can get rid of them, we will move them to the island of Lindholm. They will be obliged to stay at the new deportation centre at night and there will be police around the clock. Great!”
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Lindholm Island “has been used as a laboratory and crematory by scientists researching swine flu, rabies and other contagious diseases”, says Reuters. The government said it would decontaminate the uninhabited island by late 2019 and open the detention facilities in 2021.
Human rights activists “have denounced the decision, calling it degrading and inhumane”, says German state broadcaster Deutsche Welle.
While the mayor of Vordingborg municipality, Mikael Smed, where the island is located, was not enthusiastic about the measure. “People think this is not the solution to the real problems,” Smed said prior to today's parliamentary vote.
UN human rights chief Michelle Bachelet had also expressed concerned about the island measure last month. “I have serious concerns with this plan and we will monitor it and discuss it ... with the government,” Bachelet told journalists in Geneva.
“We've seen the negative impact of such policies of isolation, and (they) should not replicate these policies. Because depriving them of their liberty, isolating them, and stigmatising them will only increase their vulnerability,” she added.
-
What led to Poland invoking NATO’s Article 4 and where could it lead?
TODAY'S BIG QUESTION After a Russian drone blitz, Warsaw’s rare move to invoke the important NATO statute has potentially moved Europe closer to continent-wide warfare
-
Africa could become the next frontier for space programs
The Explainer China and the US are both working on space applications for Africa
-
Video games to curl up with this fall, including Ghost of Yotei and LEGO Party
The Week Recommends Several highly anticipated video games are coming this fall
-
China is silently expanding its influence in American cities
Under the Radar New York City and San Francisco, among others, have reportedly been targeted
-
How China uses 'dark fleets' to circumvent trade sanctions
The Explainer The fleets are used to smuggle goods like oil and fish
-
Russia's 'shared values' visa
The Explainer The 'anti-woke' scheme is aimed at foreigners who reject LGBTQ+ rights and 'non-traditional' values – and who can provide Moscow with online clout and skilled workers
-
Syria's returning refugees
The Explainer Thousands of Syrian refugees are going back to their homeland but conditions there remain extremely challenging
-
One year after mass protests, why are Kenyans taking to the streets again?
today's big question More than 60 protesters died during demonstrations in 2024
-
Dutch government falls over immigration policy
speed read The government collapsed after anti-immigration politician Geert Wilders quit the right-wing coalition
-
What happens if tensions between India and Pakistan boil over?
TODAY'S BIG QUESTION As the two nuclear-armed neighbors rattle their sabers in the wake of a terrorist attack on the contested Kashmir region, experts worry that the worst might be yet to come
-
Japan is opening up to immigration – but is it welcoming immigrants?
Under the Radar Plummeting birth rates and ageing population leaves closed-off country 'no choice' but to admit foreign workers, but tensions are growing with newly arrived Muslims