The Diplomat
The Council of Ministers referred this past Monday to the Spanish Parliament the agreement between Spain and Qatar on the transfer of persons sentenced to deprivation of liberty, while authorizing the manifestation of Spain’s consent to be bound by the aforementioned agreement.
The competent authorities of Spain and Qatar have been in contact since May 2018 with the intention of negotiating a bilateral agreement on the transfer of sentenced persons. After a round of negotiations by videoconference held between February 8 and 10, 2021, followed by an exchange of comments by both parties, the final wording of the text was finally agreed.
The agreement was signed in Madrid on October 24, 2022 by the Minister of Justice, María Pilar Llop Cuenca, and the Ambassador of the State of Qatar in Spain, Abdulla bin Ibrahim Al-Hamar, after receiving the authorization of the Council of Ministers on May 3, 2022, a few dates before the visit to Spain of the Emir of Qatar, Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani.
This agreement strengthens relations between the two States, as it increases cooperation in the field of the transfer of persons sentenced to custodial sentences, promotes integration and combats the social uprooting caused by internment in a country other than their country of origin.
