Taiwan has sent a man convicted of drug trafficking back to his home country of Switzerland to serve out the rest of his sentence. It’s the first time that’s happened since Taiwan and Switzerland signed a deal on prisoner transfers in 2020.
According to the justice ministry, the man was sentenced in 2015 to 18 years in prison for trafficking category one drugs into Taiwan. That group of drugs includes the narcotics most restricted by Taiwanese law.
In late 2020, Taiwan and Switzerland signed an agreement on the transfer of sentenced persons. Taiwanese authorities then began examining the prisoner’s request to be transferred home.
The justice ministry says it sent the man back to Switzerland on Tuesday.
To date, Taiwan has transferred 12 foreign nationals back to serve out their sentences in their home countries. That includes the Swiss prisoner, seven Germans, two Britons, one Dane and a Pole.
Taiwan has signed deals to cooperate on criminal matters with all of those countries.