Visitor report in Bangkok "Hilton" written by Rachel Imamkhan

In March 2010 I visited Dutch prisoners detained in Bangkok, the capital city of Thailand. A few of them are remanded in custody for almost ten years, waiting to be transferred to the Netherlands.

A ratified Thailand-Netherlands treaty on prisoner transfer and cooperation in regards to penal sentences came into force on April 1, 2005. The treaty was signed at The Hague in August 2004 and mandated that prisoners who, after serving a minimum jail term – usually a quarter of their sentence – could see out the remaining time in their home countries. However, before Dutch prisoners are permitted to apply for this transfer, their government specifies certain stipulations. Firstly, any prisoner's case must have proceeded entirely through Thailand's legal system. This means that even final appeals must be concluded. The second requirement is that the prisoner can prove Dutch nationality or, at minimum, a legal residence permit. Without nationality or legal residence, a transfer is out of the question. The third rule prisoners must meet before they are considered candidates for transfer is that they are required to have been active in the Dutch community previous to their arrest. That means they must have lived for a term in the Netherlands, working or studying and having family still living there. Fourthly, a prisoner must be convicted of a crime in Thailand that carries the same sentence as that under the Dutch penal code. If you are sentenced to death in Thailand, you cannot be transferred to the Netherlands because the death penalty does not exist under Dutch law.

If you are sentenced to a prison term of more than 40 years, after eight years you can apply for a request to be transferred to the Netherlands. The Dutch prisoners Eddy Tang, Rien Parlevliet and Adriaan van Ommering who have already served more than eight years, are still waiting to be transferred to the Netherlands. For these Dutch prisoners the request for the transfer must be approved by the Dutch and Thai authorities. The Court of Justice in Arnhem gives in every case a counsel advice and sends its advice to the Ministry of Justice in the Hague.

For Eddy Tang, Rien Parlevliet and Adriaan van Ommering the Dutch authority approved the procedure for the transferring to the Netherlands. They are still waiting to be represented to the Thai Commission and hopefully the Thai authority will approve the transfer.

The Thai authorities are not cooperating very quickly with the transfer of Dutch prisoners. The reason for this is that the Thai authorities know that the Dutch prisoners will be released when they arrive in the Netherlands. The cause of this is related in the Dutch penal code. In the Netherlands if you are arrested for a drugs crime, the charge is punishable by a maximum term of 12 years. But the country's parole system means a sentence does not have to be completed in prison. Convicts serving two-thirds of their sentence are typically released on parole. That provision, however, becomes a problem for Thailand, where drug-related offences often come with a 40-year sentence, or life imprisonment. If a prisoner spends eight years in a Thai prison before applying for a transfer to the Netherlands, that prisoner is more than likely to have served two-thirds of his Dutch sentence and, as a result, he can be released immediately upon returning home. This is becoming a serious problem for Dutch inmates because the Thai authorities are aware of the issue. They do not want to see the foreign inmates immediately released upon returning home, hence defying Thai justice.

As an example, take the case of Eddy Tang who had already served eight years in a Thai jail. In August, that prisoner will have served 10 years in a Thai prison, simply because local authorities are refusing to transfer him. They are well aware that he would be released immediately upon landing on Dutch territory. It is my opinion that the Dutch government needs to develop a new chapter in its penal code, specifically for prisoners abroad. It would entail giving prisoners who apply for transfer under the treaty an additional year, more or less, in a Dutch prison. It is essential that the Dutch government find a solution to the current dilemma regarding prison transfers. Otherwise, convicts will remain in prison on foreign territory for much longer than the treaty aims to allow.

In 2004, 2005 and 2007 I visited the Dutch prisoners Rien Parlevliet, Eddy Tang en Lien Yang for the first time. Eddy and Lien Yang were sentenced to the death penalty. They spent several years wearing shackles behind bars. After a long time of negotiations between the Dutch and the Thai authority the death penalty was converted to life imprisonment. The change of the sentence was necessary because otherwise neither man could apply for a request to be transferred. After six years of support the Dutch Embassy abruptly withdrew aid claiming that Lien's passport was counterfeit. Lien now faces another 30 years in Thai prison and will have to serve his full 40 years sentence. He currently stands no chance of being transferred to the Netherlands. During my last visit Lien Yang told me he has to work in prison to survive and to buy his own food and medicine. For a long time he didn't see any visitors. It is necessary that the Dutch government thinks about a solution. After six years the Dutch government cannot wash their hands of Lien Yang.

Dutch prisoners in Thailand need a second chance. That is why it is so vital that they are eligible for a prisoner transfer. I fervently hope Dutch travellers will also think twice before even considering an act that runs contrary to Thailand's legal system.

Thailand may be known around the world as the Land of Smiles, but that smile does not extend to its prisons.