Rehabilitation of Former Politically Persecuted
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1 | (NON) REHABILITATION OF FORMER POLITICALLY PERSECUTED In the process of Transitional Justice (1991-2018) www.idmc.al Institute for Democracy, Media and Culture (IDMC) | 2 © 2019 Institute for Democracy, Media and Culture (IDMC) Address: Rr. Bardhok Biba, Hyrja A, Kati 11, Tirana Email: [email protected], www.idmc.al All rights reserved (Non) rehabilitation of Former Politically Persecuted: in the process of Transitional Justice (1991 – 2018) is study was prepared by Erblin Vukaj in 2018. Responsibility of the content remains with the author. is publication was supported by the oce of the Konrad Adenauer Foundation in Tirana Graphic design and typeseing: Iceberg Communication Cover photo: LSA Printers: Gent Grak 3 | 3 | (NON) REHABILITATION OF FORMER POLITICALLY PERSECUTED In the process of Transitional Justice (1991-2018) A STUDY Institute for Democracy, Media and Culture (IDMC) Tirana, 2019 | 4 5 | Contents Introduction........................................................................ 9 1. A short history of the legal framework and the process of rehabilitation of formerly persecuted people in Albania ................................................... 11 1.1 e beginning of the process of rehabilitation (1991-1997)...................................................... 11 1.2 Interruption to the process of paying compensation (1998-2005) ........................... 15 1.3 e process of paying compensation begins again (2006-2013) .......................................... 16 1.4 Continuation of the process of rehabilitation with other changes (2014-2018).................... 23 2. e process of rehabilitation within transitional justice....................................................................... 27 2.1 e new democracy and the rst aempts to establish justice (1991-1997)......................... 28 e rst years (1992-1994) ............................ 28 Passing of the rst laws on the crimes of the regime and the Sigurimi (1994-1997) .......... 32 2.2 e second phase of transitional justice (aer 1997) ....................................................... 38 3. e legal framework for transitional justice ......... 43 3.1 Principal laws .................................................... 43 3.2 Legislative changes .......................................... 44 3.3 e number of formerly persecuted people and applications ............................................... 45 3.4 e economic cost ............................................ 46 3.5 Requests for opening of les and institutional bureaucracy ........................................................ 49 4. Conclusions ........................................................... 55 Recommendations ................................................. 57 References .............................................................. 58 | 6 List of abbreviations e Authority for Information on Documents of the Former State Security (Sigurimi) (Autoriteti për Informimin mbi Dokumentet e ish- Sigurimit të Shtetit) AIDSSH Democratic Party DP International Commission on Missing Persons ICMP e Institute for the Integration of formerly Politically Persecuted People (Instituti për Integrimin e ish-të Përndjekurve Politikë) IIPP e Institute of Studies on the Crimes and Consequences of Communism (Instituti i Studimeve të Krimeve dhe Pasojave të Komunizmit) ISKK e Commiee of former Political Prisoners and Persecuted People (Komiteti i ish-të Dënuarve dhe të Përndjekurve Politikë) KIDPP e State Supreme Audit (Kontrolli i Lartë i Shtetit) KLSH Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe OSCE Socialist Party SP United Nations UN 7 | List of gures Figure 1 – Number of interned during the dictatorship according to ISKK p. 19 Figure 2 – Number of imprisoned during the dictatorship according to ISKK p. 19 Figure 3 – Number of people killed during the dictatorship according to ISKK p.20 Figure 4 – Number of dead people while imprisoned during the dictatorship according to ISKK p.20 Figure 5 – Number of people who lost the use of their mental abilities during isolation in prison according to ISKK p.20 Figure 6 – Orders for the destruction of the les signed in December 1990 p.41 List of tables Table 1 – Number of persecuted according to IIPP p.45 Table 2 – Dierence of data between IPP and ISKKK for former persecuted p.46 Table 3 – Funds for compensation of the formerly persecuted aer 2009 p.47 Table 4 – Funds disbursed in compensation of the formerly persecuted aer 2009-2017 p.48 | 8 9 | Introduction 28 years have passed since the fall of the dictatorship in Albania, and very lile has been done so far for the rehabilitation of formerly persecuted people, victims of persecution by the Communist regime. According to the United Nations Convention against “torture and other cruel, inhumane and degrading treatment or punishment,” the rehabilitation of victims should “aim to restore, as far as possible, independence, and physical, mental, social and professional ability as well as their full inclusion and participation in society.”1 In this study, the process of rehabilitation will be considered to be restricted to nancial compensation for victims, based on the Albanian legal framework for this process in the period 1991-2018. In its rst section, the study deals with the process of rehabilitation divided into four time periods and phases of legislative developments. e rst phase is the beginning of the process of rehabilitation (1991- 1997); the second is the interruption of the process of compensation 1998-2005; the third phase is when the process of compensation began again (2006-2013), and the fourth phase is 2014-2018 and ongoing. e study aempts to present the rst steps in this process such as the law on innocence, on rehabilitation and the forms of compensation, but also the legal changes which were most of all accompanied by protests and strikes by formerly persecuted people. e second part of the study aempts to analyse the legal framework in relation to the expectations of the transitional justice which is expected to be established in former Communist countries. Here we will focus mainly on two phases – on the early changes during the period 1991-1997, and aer 1997. 1. United Nations Committee Against Torture (CAT), General Comment no 3, 2012, “Con- vention Against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment”. Implementation of articles 14, 13 December 2012, online at https://www.refworld.org/ do- cid/5437cc274.html | 10 In the third part, the study presents the legal framework for transitional justice, where the gaps in this process are reinforced in relation to such problems as the contested number of formerly persecuted people, compensation, and demands for the opening of the les. In all these years, despite the positive steps with the creation of institutions such as the Commiee of former Political Prisoners and Persecuted People (Komitetiiish-të Dënuarvedhe të Përndjekurve Politikë; KIDPP) in 1993, the Institute for the Integration of Formerly Politically Persecuted People (Instituti për Integrimin e ish-të Përndjekurve Politikë; IIPP) in 1997, the Institute of Studies of the Crimes and Consequences of Communism (Instituti i Studimeve të Krimeve dhe Pasojave të Komunizmit; ISKK) in 2010 and the Authority for Information on Documents of the Former State Security (Sigurimi) (Autoriteti për Informimin mbi Dokumentet e ish-Sigurimit të Shtetit; AIDSSH) in 2015, the rehabilitation of formerly persecuted people has not met their expectations, nor those of Albanian society. is study not only presents a summary of legal developments in relation to the process of rehabilitation of formerly politically persecuted people. It also presents an analysis of important developments which have through the years impacted on the most dicult process of Albanian democracy: confrontation with the crimes of the dictatorship and the rehabilitation of all those who suered injustice in the Communist regime. e main theme of the study is that the excessive time taken for the process of rehabilitating victims impacts not only on the lives of formerly persecuted people, but also on the time taken for political transition. e problems that have beset this process, the lack of punishment of crimes and the lack of respect for victims, cast into doubt the democratic values which the political class and society of a country share with the countries of the European Union into which we aim to gain membership. 11 | 1. A SHORT HISTORY OF THE LEGAL FMEWORK AND THE PROCESS OF REHABILITATION OF FORMERLY PERSECUTED PEOPLE IN ALBANIA 1.1 e beginning of the process of rehabilitation (1991-1997) e rst pluralist parliament in Albania, resulting from the elections of 31 March 1991, instigated a “programme of national reconciliation”, oering an amnesty to all those imprisoned and persecuted for political reasons by the Communist system. is took place on 30 September 1991 through the approval of Law no 7514 “On the innocence, amnesty and rehabilitation of those formerly sentenced and persecuted for political reasons”. With this law, the so-called “Stability” government of the time, led by Ylli Bu, promised to take “all measures for the compensation and rehabilitation of those who were accused, put on trial, convicted and imprisoned, interned or unjustly persecuted for oences of a political nature.” e aim was for legal reform and the establishment of a free and democratic society. In 45 years the Communist dictatorship executed more than 5500 people “for political issues” and imprisoned more than 14 000