Punishing the Alien: The Sentencing of Foreign Offenders in Slovenia

Abstract

The authors examine the question of foreignness, which appears in many shades; citizenship is thus just one of the many aspects contributing to society’s stance on ‘foreignness’. After sketching the current prison situation in Europe, the authors analyse the situation of foreigners in the Slovenian criminal justice system. On the one hand, we can perceive a general turn towards harsher treatment of foreign offenders – there have been more convictions and more foreigners in prison recently. However, a more detailed analysis shows that with regard to cases of homicide, foreigners may even be receiving more lenient sentences compared to Slovenian citizens.

Keywords: foreigners, prison, criminal justice, court, sentencing