Safety violated at institutions for the execution of penal decisions of Shën Koll and Vaqarr

The Albanian Helsinki Committee (AHC) notes that the reported incidents in the Institutions for the Execution of Penal Decisions, Shën Koll and Vaqarr, have violated the safety of persons deprived of their liberty and of personnel taking care of these persons, in these institutions.

Although the manner and the circumstances in which these incidents occurred are different, AHC notes that the life and health of persons deprived of their liberty has been put at risk, causing one dead inmate in the Shën Koll Institution and one wounded inmate in the Vaqarr Institution.

For AHC, the institutions for the execution of penal decisions are of special importance and, therefore, measures taken to prevent such incidents should be such that they will effectively respond to the protection of the life and health of persons deprived of their liberty and the prison administration. On the other hand, these measures should not deprive persons, whose liberty is already limited, of effectively enjoying and exercising the rights sanctioned in relevant legislation.

AHC notes that sporadic incidents (similar or different from these ones) have been reported even in the past in the Institutions for the Execution of Penal Decisions that have violated security in prisons. AHC considers that such cases should serve as alarm bells for responsible authorities and they should dictate the need to improve security in these institutions.

AHC calls on the General Directory of Prisons and State Police structures to reflect adequately on these incidents, by taking the necessary measures not only in the affected institutions but also in other institutions where similar or different incidents may take place. Also, we call on the General Directory of Prisons to conduct thematic inspections in all institutions for the execution of penal decisions in order to oversee and observe all security elements in these institutions as well as to highlight the problems and measures that should be undertaken in order to improve such security.