Some days ago, I.J. who is serving an imprisonment sentence at the Drenova prison addressed the
Albanian Helsinki Committee (AHC) with the following complaint:
a) An unfair measure has been imposed on me. They imposed special supervision on me for
three months.
b) They used handcuffs and chains to tie me to the bed for six days. I have the times noted
down.
To verify this measure, AHC tasked a group of observers, including a medical doctor, to verify
this complaint on 19.10.2023.
Regarding the first complaint:
According to the incident report dated 31.08.2023, the convict I.J. punched another convict. For
that reason, he was taken to the isolation room. After following relevant procedures, by decision
of 13.09.2023, the Inmate Evaluation Commission at the General Directory of Prisons, based on
article 68/1 letter “a” of law no. 81/2020 decided: “Transfer the inmate I.J. to the special
supervision regime, for a period of three months, starting from 31.08.2023 at 12:30.”
Article 68, paragraph 1, letter “a” of law no. 81/2020 reads: “The inmate may be placed under
special supervision regime for a period no longer than three months, when he jeopardizes the life
of the institution’s personnel, or when there is a risk of the person harming himself or others.” In
fact, the incident report mentioned above does not speak either about a threat to the safety of the
institution’s personnel or the risk of harming oneself or others.
That is why the decision taken against I.J. is unlawful and arbitrary. Another disciplinary measure
could have been taken against him, a more appropriate one, especially since, according to the
personal medical file, he suffers from “borderline personality disorders” and receives sedatives
and anti-depressants. In fact, before this measure was taken and during its execution, he should
have been subjected to a medical checkup in order to judge his health situation and determine
whether he could put up with such a measure or not
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