QENDRA PER MBROJTJEN E TE DREJTAVE TE FEMIJEVE NE SHQIPERI

Children’s Human Rights Centre of Albania - CRCA

NO ONE TO

CARE

A Report on the situation of children in Police Stations and Pre-trial Detention

Centres in Albania 2002 - 2004

Prepared by:

Altin Hazizaj S. Thornton Barkley

Tirana, December 2004

LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS

CRCA Children’s Human Rights Centre of Albania

CAT Convention Against Torture

CRC Convention on the Rights of the Child

CC Criminal Code

CPC Criminal Procedures Code

HR Human Rights

INSTAT Institute of Statistics of Albania

MPO Ministry of Public Order

MoJ Ministry of Justice

STD Sexually transmitted diseases

UN United Nations

UNCRC United Nations Committee on the Rights of the Child

2 Acknowledgements

CRCA would like to thank the following:

- Special thanks to Mr. Altin Hazizaj and Mr. S. Thornton Barkley for the carrying out of the fact-finding mission and for the preparation and writing of this report.

- The staff of CRCA Child Legal Protection Centre (CLPO) for providing detailed information on the situation of juveniles in four Police Stations of Tirana and Pre-trial Detention Centre 313, Tirana.

- Soros Foundation in Albania for the financial support of the monitoring and reporting process on the situation of juveniles in police stations and pre-trial detention centers during 2004.

- Special thanks to our long-term partner Olof Palme International Center for the financial support of the monitoring and reporting process on the situation of juveniles in police stations and pre-trial detention centers during 2003 in Albania.

- Defence for Children International (DCI) for the financial support of the monitoring and reporting process on the situation of juveniles in police stations and pre-trial detention centers during 2003 in Tirana.

- The children in police stations and pre-trial detention centers who spoke freely to us about their life, problems, fears and concerns.

- The Ministry of Public Order and its General Directorate of Police for providing on time appropriate documents and permissions to our researchers.

- Police representatives in all the districts of Albania who spoke freely to our researchers during the fact-finding missions.

- INSTAT who provided us with available data and statistics on criminality rates in Albania.

3 CONTENTS

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY 5

INTORDUCTION 7

1. Juvenile Justice in Albania 7

Definition of a juvenile offenders 7 Criminality rates and juveniles in Albania 8 The institutions and facilities for juvenile justice 10 People working in institutions and facilities for juvenile justice 13 Prevention 14 Media 14

2. The Legal Framework for Juvenile Justice 15

Criminal Responsibility 15 Legal procedures 15 Best interest of the child 16 Sanctions towards juveniles 16 Deprivation of liberty 17 Alternative Measures 17 Gender perspective 18

3. Situation of Juveniles in Police Stations and Pre-trial detention centers 18

Exercise of children’s rights 18 Investigation of juveniles’ cases 19 Torture, violence against children and treatment of juveniles by police 20 Sexual abuse and sexual life of juveniles 21 The right to keep contacts with family 23 Conditions of cells and overpopulation 23 Conditions of other facilities for juveniles 23 Food and nutrition 24 The right to education and leisure activities 25 3.10 Medical assistance 25 3.11 Psycho-social services for juveniles 26

4. Conclusions and Recommendations 26

Conclusions 26 Recommendations 28

5. Contacts and links 31

4 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

The fall of communism and the transition to democracy found Albania without a system of juvenile justice in place. Although juvenile justice structures existed in the communism period, the traumatic and sometimes violent changes left children and juveniles in Albania without a system of care and protection.

In 2004 Albania still doesn’t have a juvenile justice system in place. Children in Albania make up to 40 percent of the population. Nevertheless, during the last 14 years of transition and democratic changes, children and adolescents have been one of the least addressed groups of society in terms of legislation, policies and budget. The lack of a modern childcare and protection system has left many children without the protection of a safety net, which would guarantee the care of children when parents are not able to handle their responsibilities.

Albania is one of the poorest countries in Europe characterised by wide poverty, internal and external migration, unemployment, social exclusion and lack of opportunities for young people in society. As many as 3 percent of children a year drop out of schools, although many believe that this figure is much greater than the official data suggests.

As can be seen in the official data that is published annually there are a greater number of children committing crimes in Albania. One may find the reasons of such an increase to be linked to the widespread poverty, internal migration, social exclusion and unemployment. Researchers believe that the lack of opportunities for young people and the lack of preventative work are amongst the main reasons for juvenile delinquency.

This report presents the situation of juveniles in police stations and pre-trial detention centers in Albania, managed by the Ministry of Public Order and the Ministry of Justice. Although since April 2003 the pre-trial detention system should have passed under the management of the Ministry of Justice. The lack of financial resources and managerial structures means that the system, remains under the management of the Ministry of Public Order, with the exception of two districts: Tirana and Vlora.

The CRCA Team carried out indiscriminate visits to police stations and pre-trial detention centers in a number of cities and towns across Albania. During our three-year (2002-2004) monitoring process of the situation of juveniles, we carried out 10 visits to police stations and pre-trial detention centers in 10 cities / towns including Tirana, Shkodra, Lezha, Elbasan, Korça, Gjirokastra, Saranda, Vlora and Fier. The CRCA Team was made to feel welcome by the Police Authorities; this in turn made our work a lot easier to carry out.

During 2002 – 2004 we have had the chance to talk with more than 100 juveniles in police stations and pre-trial detention centers throughout Albania. Almost all the juvenile offenders that we have interviewed state that torture and violence was used against them each time they got stopped or arrested by the police. The degree of violence varies between one Police station and the other, and the seriousness of the offence they are supposed to have committed. Very few cases of violence against juveniles are reported in the pre-trial detention system. However inhuman and degrading conditions within the system contribute in making the juveniles feel forgotten abused and mistreated.

One of the major concerns that came often to our attention was the lack of justice for juvenile offenders. Most of the juveniles in pre-trial detention system have committed what in the legal sense would be termed petty crimes. Despite this prosecutors and judges often ask and decide to keep juveniles as long as one year in pre-trial detention system, although they know that the conditions are inhuman and degrading.

5 Restorative justice1 is neither known nor applied in Albania. The fact that pre-trial detention centers and prisons are overcrowded should make the policy-makers find solutions to the problem. Instead, the lack of coordination and restorative measures from the Government and Justice System makes living conditions for all detainees inhuman and degrading, violating their most basic human rights.

People often ask how do juvenile offenders live and spend the time in pre-trial detention centers. In most of the cases they share their cells with adult detainees. They smoke all the time, play cards with inmates and talk until late at night. They eat food that they receive from their families, because the food provided by the Government is inedible. If they are lucky they can stay every day one hour in open-air cells. In a few cases juveniles have become the victims of rape and sexual abuse from adult detainees and no measures have been taken by the Police authorities to follow up claims. As one of the juveniles told us “Some times we get so bored that we sing songs to pass the time.”

The right to education is denied to all the juveniles. There is not a single policy from the Albanian Government and the respective Ministries to make the right to education exercisable to all juvenile detainees. The child’s right to education is a basic right guaranteed by Article 28 of the Convention on the Rights of the Child and the lack of implementation means that the Albanian Government is in violation of the CRC.

The facts presented in this report come from a long-time monitoring of the conditions in police stations and pre-trial detention centers by the Children’s Human Rights Centre of Albania – CRCA. During the period 2002 – 2004 police stations and pre-trial have been visited at least once. We have noted that conditions have improved very little and in some cases they have deteriorated.

One of the major difficulties we had while writing this report were disaggregated data on juvenile delinquency in Albania from the Albanian Ministry of Public Order. Although we received considerable amount of data from INSTAT, they mainly dealt with adult delinquency. Data and information was also available until 2001 and very few non-analysed data was available for the period 2002-2003.

This report presents the situation of juveniles in police stations and pre-trial detention centers in Albania, including concerns of juvenile detainees, who have spoken openly to us and have provided us with an accurate view of their situation, conditions and opinions. We hope that with this report will bring their voices and concerns to the agenda of the Albanian Government, Ministry of Public Order, Ministry of Justice, Parliament and the civil society.

1 What is restorative justice? Restorative justice is a systematic response to wrongdoing that emphasis the wounds of victims, offenders and communities caused or revealed by the criminal behaviour. Practices and programmes reflecting restorative purposes would respond to crime by: a) identifying and taking steps to repaid harm, b) involving all stakeholders and, c) transforming the traditional relationship between communities and their governments in responding to crimes.

6 INTRODUCTION

The transition to democracy in Albania was longer and more difficult than expected. The political, social and economical life of the country has been widely affected by a number of crises during 1991, 1997 and 1998, and by large-scale civil unrest.

The rule of law and public order during these years have been affected by the increase in the number of crimes, some of them new to Albania, political, social and economical changes. The migration within the country, from poor urban and rural areas towards the larger cities, and the lack of employment has caused social exclusion and high rates of criminality, where children and young people have been involved as offenders or victims of crimes.

The high level of crimes committed against and by children is not a major concern for the agenda of the Albanian Government, Ministry of Public Order or other relevant institutions. The lack of preventative measures has contributed to the annual increase in the number of juvenile offenders.

Previous and present Albanian Governments and the Ministry of Public Order did not approve any policies or strategies for the prevention, protection and rehabilitation of juvenile offenders, including children below 14 years old.

Albania ratified the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) in February 1992, but the Government made the first translated copies of the CRC available to the public only in early 2001. The implementation of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child has faced difficulties, because governmental officials have very little knowledge of the CRC and they lack training on child rights issues. The same applies to the justice system including judges and prosecutors. Other UN rules for the administration of juvenile justice2 are little known and applied by Albanian authorities.

1. JUVENILE JUSTICE IN ALBANIA

1.1 Definition of a juvenile offender

The Albanian Criminal Code does not have a clear definition of who is to be considered a juvenile3 offender.

However a reference to the definition can be found at article 12 of the Criminal Code, under the heading “The age of criminal responsibility”. The article states that a person below 14 years of age does not bear criminal responsibility. In order to get a clearer picture of the definition, one has to refer also to article 51 of the Criminal Code, which says:

“For minors, who at the time when they committed the criminal act were under 18 years old, the imprisonment sentence may not exceed half of the term of punishment provided for by law for the criminal act committed.”

Based on these two articles of the Criminal Code, we believe that a juvenile offender in Albania is considered to be a person above 14 and below 18 years of age.

However there is one question that remains unanswered:

2 United Nations Rules for the Protection of Juveniles Deprived of Their Liberty (Dec 1990); Beijing Rules and Riyadh Rules. 3 The Criminal Code of Albania uses the word “minor” instead of juvenile. However, because of the lack of a clear definition in the Criminal Code, for the purposes of this research we have used the word “juvenile” throughout the Report.

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- What happens if a person is below 14 years of age? CRCA researchers strongly believe and suggest that the Criminal Code of Albania needs to be amended in order to have clear definitions of who is considered a “juvenile” or “minor” in Albania.

On the other side the definitions that we have used in this report are as following:

Child is a person below 18 years old. Juvenile is a person above 14 and below 18 years old.

1.2 Criminality rates and juveniles in Albania

The data provided by the Institute of Statistics of Albania (INSTAT) show that the criminality in Albania in recent years has been decreasing, after a massive increase of criminality rates in 1997 because of the social unrest. Contrary to the general trend, criminality rates among juveniles have been increasing. In this section we have presented annual data charts, in order to make it visible and to compare the criminality rates in Albania during consecutive years and the roles that juveniles play in the overall picture.

REGISTERED CRIMES BY THE POLICE AUTHORITY4 TABLE 1 Years 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 Total crimes 9,412 7,423 6,370 5,221 6,394 5,954 5,612 5,199 4,270 Murder 268 265 210 248 1,542 573 496 275 208 Attempted Murder 325 278 297 354 1,014 434 376 334 313 GBH 269 286 250 240 344 188 193 153 135 Sexual Crimes 153 149 97 101 41 62 68 91 67 Against Property 5,361 3,330 2,671 2,131 1,810 2,150 1,874 1,436 1,241 Embezzlement 79 52 63 18 21 20 28 62 50 Counterfeiting 9 47 32 27 10 13 32 32 28 Drug Related 25 68 393 393 49 449 342 541 340 Others 2,923 2,948 2,315 1,709 1,563 2,065 2,203 2,275 1,888

100% 90% 2001 80% 2000 70% 1999 60% 1998 50% 1997 40% 1996 30% 1995 20% 1994 10% 1993 0%

s g ry s de e Set n e im r y orge rim Murder l C ert F C Homici s Cheati y g rop ru Total crimes P D ttempt Sexua Mone A Serious Wound

4 Statistical Year Book Albania 1993-2001, published by INSTAT.

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One concern that we faced during the preparation of this Report was the quality and quantity of data. We were not able to find disaggregated data for juvenile offenders relating to gender, race, age, area etc by the Ministry of Public Order of Albania. Previously we have expressed our concern on the way data is collected and processed by the Ministry of Public Order. Data is important amongst other reasons for the preventative work for juvenile justice and lack of data makes this work rather impossible.

INSTAT keeps data related to the criminality rates5, ages of offenders, but when it comes in terms of relation between juvenile age and offences there are no data available.

Sentenced Children (2002-2003)

SENTENCED JUVENILES 300 Year 2002 2003 250

200 Crimes 251 250 2002 150 2003 Contraventions 23 49 100 50 0 Crimes Contravention

TABLE 2 SENTENCED PERSONS BY AGE GROUP AND GENDER Years Gender 1993 1994 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 Females 2 7 16 1 1 1 4 1 Males 242 296 465 91 386 402 413 20

500

450 400 350 300 Females 250 Males 200 150 100 50 0 1993 1994 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001

5 Statistical Year Book Albania 1993-2001, published by INSTAT.

9 The last table presented in this section deals with sentenced persons based on the classification of the offence they have carried. It is easily understood that the offences have not been related to the age or the gender of the person.

TABLE 3 SENTENCED PEOPLE ACCORDING TO THE TYPE OF PUNISHMENT Years 1993 1994 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 Total 3,754 3,995 4,486 1,198 3,581 3,667 4,154 1,178 Murder 130 236 332 138 443 461 498 594 GBH 175 231 280 58 68 103 116 25 Sexual Crimes 48 49 55 12 10 12 11 29 Robbery 76 70 115 58 240 244 251 267 Theft 1,325 1,280 1,445 263 772 731 749 93 Drug Related 18 10 199 50 85 115 33 46 Corruption 1 8 2 1 1 1 120 6 Fraud 8 41 53 28 38 31 2 - Others 1,973 2,070 1,985 590 1,924 1,969 2,374 118

5000

4500

4000 Total 3500 Homicide Assault 3000 Sexual Crimes Robbery 2500 Theft 2000 Drug Crimes Corruption 1500 Fraud Others 1000

500

0 1993 1994 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001

1.3 The institutions and facilities for juvenile justice

Because of the traditions of governance from the communist regime, Albania remains a highly centralised country, where policies, legislation and the budget depend much on the central Government and Ministries. Although a decentralisation reform is under way many services still remain under the management of the central Government.

Below there is a short description of the institutions and facilities that deal directly with juvenile justice.

10 Ministry of Justice

Ministry of Justice (MoJ) is overall responsible for the policy-making and management of the prison system in Albania. However, MoJ is responsible also for the pre-trial detention centers of Tirana and Vlora. Since April 2003 the Ministry should have been responsible for the management of the whole pre-trial detention system, but because of lack of resources, such a transfer did not take place. A new Directorate of Juvenile Justice has been established in the MoJ, but it is still not clear what responsibilities such a Directorate will have. Under the umbrella of the Ministry of Justice also falls the General Directorate of Prisons.

General Directorate of Prisons

This public institution is responsible for the overall management of prisons in Albania, including the juvenile offenders. The Directorate has been changing its management staff on a regular basis, and just before the publication of this Report, the Prime minister appointed a new Director.

Prisons

Prisons are responsible for the day-to-day management of the premises and care of detainees. Every prison has a Director, which is supposed to be a civilian position. However by our observations many of the Directors and staff of the prisons come from a military or police background.

Albania does not have a juvenile prison. However the Prison of Vaqar (10 Km far from Tirana) has established a small section of three rooms for male juvenile offenders. Currently there are 24 juveniles between 14-18, who serve their sentences in this Section. A juvenile needs to have a final court decision, before being sent to this Prison. Female juvenile offenders serve their sentences in the Prison 325 (inside Tirana), but there is no juvenile section here. At the moment there are no juvenile females in this Prison.

Ministry of Public Order

Ministry of Public Order is overall responsible for policy-making, internal security of the country including borders, and the management of police stations and pre-trial detention centres. The responsible authority is the General Directorate of Police. Recently a Children’s Section was established in the Ministry, with the mandate to monitor the situation of juvenile criminality in the country and provide care and protection for children victims of crimes. This section is in its infancy and is too early to review the work they have carried out. During 2005 the main aim of this Section is to establish twelve Children’s Sections in every Directorate of Police.

General Directorate of the Police

The General Directorate is present throughout Albania and at central level is organised in Directorates such as: Directorate of Public Order Police, Directorate of Criminal Police, Border Police etc. However there is no Directorate for the Pre-trial Detention Centres, which are managed by the Public Order Police. The Directorate also has 12 regional centres (also called Directorates of Police), which are established wherever there is a presence of a Prefecture6. Each Directorate of Police in the region is responsible for one or more Police Station. The organisational structure of the Directorate is the same as the General Directorate of Police.

6 Prefecture is a form of the administrative organisation in Albania. However the Prefect is not elected, but rather appointed by the Prime-ministers office. The mandate of the Prefecture is to review whether the legal acts and decisions of Municipalities (cities / towns) and Communes (villages) are in compliance with the laws of the country.

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Police Stations

Police stations are present in most Municipalities in Albania but are rarely present in Communes7. There is one responsible police officer to monitor and report for the criminality situation in every village / city / town area in the country. Every police station has one or more cells, where supposed offenders are kept for maximum 96 hours. Within this time frame the First Instance Court has to decide whether the juvenile will be kept in pre-trial or be freed8.

Pre-trial detention centres

The pre-trial detention centers are managed by both the Directorates of Police or by Police Stations. There is a pre-trial detention center in almost every district9 of Albania. This depends very much on whether the Directorate of Police is present. There is no such a position as Director of the Pre-trial detention system and the management of the Center is carried out by different structures within the Police Station. The Public Order Police is responsible for security and the day to day running of the place; meanwhile the logistics are responsible for the food or other services needed.

Having the management of the Pre-trial detention system is rather a huge undertaking for the Police authority. Most of the senior police officers we spoke to, state that running the pre-trial is rather a different and difficult job from the one that police need to carry daily. Since police officers are not prepared or trained to offer social services, the standards of respect, care and protection are lacking in almost all the pre-trial detention centers visited.

Justice System (Courts, Prosecutor’s Office and Barristers)

The Justice system is responsible for dealing with the legal processes of juveniles. Although the justice system is presumed to be free and independent, its work often is undermined by political interferences and cases of corruption. The Council of Justice, which is headed by the President of the Republic, is responsible for the appointment and dismissal of judges.

Albania does not have a Juveniles Court and this means that adult Courts judge offences by juvenile offenders. Although the National Strategy for Children in Albania states specifically the promise of the Government of Albania to establish a Juveniles Court, this institution has not been created. It is not clear for the researchers whether such an institution will be established in the near future, or the promise of the Government will not be kept.

The Courts in Albania are organised in three levels: a) First Instance Court; b) Court of Appeal and c) Supreme Court.

7 If a Commune is large the General Directorate has a presence of a Police Post, which is served by one or more police officers. 8 The normal procedure is that within 48 hours from the arrest the Court shall take a decision, on what often is called the security measure. In cases when the Court decides not to send the person in pre-trial detention center, then three other measures apply: a) Freedom (criminal investigation still continues) b) Obligatory presence (the person should appear in a given day to the local Prosecutors Office, c) House arrest (a police officer is normally assigned to stay at the door of the person. In some cases the whole house is under police survey). 9 District is a form of the administrative organisation in Albania. Albania has 36 districts (74 cities / towns and 2962 villages) and 12 Prefectures.

12 First Instance Courts are set up throughout the country and include District Courts, Courts for Serious Crimes and Martial Courts. These judge criminal, civil, administrative, family, commercial cases etc., in first instance. The jury composed by judges delivers the judgment.

Appeal Courts judge at a second level and hear appeals against the decisions of the District Courts. There are 6 Appeal Courts established in the districts of Tirana, Shkodra, Durres, Gjirokaster, Vlora and Korça.

The Supreme Court, situated in Tirana, is the highest judicial authority. It has a revising jurisdiction and it reviews and settles cases previously judged by lower level courts. People address this court when they believe that during trial in the First Instance Court or the Court of Appeal, the law was violated or was not applied.

Constitutional Court is the court with a foreclosed jurisdiction that monitors the constitutionality of the laws, international agreements, or other acts of administration and the observation of the human rights related to a fair legal process. This court is not part of the concept of the judicial system.

1.4 People working in institutions and facilities for juvenile justice

People working in institutions and facilities for juvenile justice are often mentioned as the ones who commit the violence against children and juveniles. In this Report we have taken a different angle of view when it comes to the staff. This section of the report covers only staff under the management of the Ministry of Public Order. During the fact-finding missions we spoke with at least 50 police officers of Police Stations and Pre-trial detention centers in ten districts of Albania.

Working conditions

Police officers are required to work under conditions complying with the Labour Code of Albania. However in more than one case, we have noticed that the working conditions of police officers do not respect the minimum standards. We haven’t yet found a Police Station or Pre-trial detention centre with proper heating, lighting, water supply, changing rooms, rest areas, showers or toilets. Working under these conditions makes police officers depressed, which in turn undermines their performance at work. As a consequence the motivation of police officers at work is rather low and many of them suffer from stress or stress related illnesses.

Under the Law police officers are not allowed to establish trade unions, participate in similar organisations or organise strikes. The lack of a Police Trade Union makes it very difficult for the police officers to have a structure and a single voice to protect their interests.

Working hours and remuneration

Police officers are required to work 8 hours per day and 40 hours per week. However many of them state that the 8-hour shift is often turned into a 12 hour one. Many of them are expected to come to the place of work immediately (regardless of the time) in cases when the senior staff calls them. Although payment for overtime is made, the payment is always received late.

Remuneration is another problem the police officers face. Salaries are paid every two weeks, the police consider them very low and not in line with the amount of work carried out. Unless a police officer gets promoted, it is impossible for him to ask for a raise of salary. However the Government is responsible in providing police officers with meals during the working hours.

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Promotion and career

Promotion and career is a problem often raised by the police officers we spoke to. Although many new comers are University Graduates from the School of Police, it is difficult for them to gain promotion. Although the Police are not a military institution it is often seen as such because of how it was perceived during the Communist Period. The respect towards the higher ranks is obvious and there is no serious exchange of views and a critical review of work amongst different ranks. Self-initiative and critical thinking may be seen as incorrect. As often as it happens in Albania if one wants to rise in the ranks having political connections or friends with influence is a necessity.

Psychosocial care

One of the striking phenomena’s we have come to see is the lack of psychosocial care for police officers. None of the Police Stations or pre-trial detention centers has a psychologist, who could review the mental health and situation of the police officers. Although psychological care of the staff is necessary to ensure the smooth running of the place, so far neither the Government nor the Ministry of Public Order has plans or policies to introduce this service.

Communication skills and behaviour

Most of the police officers we have met lack good communication skills. Senior police staff possess good communication skills, but the lower you go in the ranks the worse the communication skills get. Although during the preparation of this Report we tried not to generalise some of the negative factors, communication skills and behaviour was one of those factors easy to generalise.

In our understanding the police see themselves similar to a military organisation and strangers are seen with suspicion. Once you get to know them, the communication is easy and very friendly. However often we could see that the communication with us was totally different from the communication and behaviour with juveniles or adult detainees.

CRC and HR Training

Very few police officers we have met have participated in CRC or HR Training. Although many training courses have been provided by NGO’s, including CRCA, the know-how has remained with senior staff without a successful transfer to the lower levels of the police force. Although HR training is part of the formal training in the School of Police, courses on CRC are lacking. This makes police officers lacking in sensitiveness and respect towards children and their rights.

As there are no internal trainings provided within the police ranks, there are few chances by the police officers to improve their knowledge on CRC, HR, communication skills, behaviour etc.

1.5 Prevention of Juvenile Delinquency

During the preparation and writing of this report, we were looking for successful preventative measures taken by the police authority or other relevant authorities of the Albanian Government. Unfortunately we were not able to find any preventative work carried out by any Governmental

14 institution in Albania. Although prevention is one of the most difficult interventions, one has to say that it is the one with the most positive results and cost-effectiveness.

1.6 Media

The media plays an important role in sensitising and forming public opinion about juvenile justice. In general the media has played a positive role in informing the public on the conditions of juveniles in police stations and pre-trial detention centers. However on many other occasions the media has been guilty on the misuse of information.

There are two ways the media covers children and juvenile issues. The first is when children become victims of an abuse or crime. In these cases there is a general victimisation of the child and it has happened on more than one occasion that the names of the child have been fully published. The case is different when media deals with a juvenile offender. Probably because they lack sensitivity towards children and their rights, juveniles often become criminalised; their names and pictures published; and sometimes juveniles are labeled as “paedophiles”, “criminals” or “delinquents”. It is unfortunate to notice that this language sometimes finds its place in publications and magazines of NGO’s working for children.

2 The Legal Framework for Juvenile Justice

2.1 Criminal Responsibility

When it comes to the issue of the age of criminal responsibility, the Criminal Code of Albania makes a difference between the criminal act and criminal contravention. Although both definitions are not explained in the Code, ones need to refer to the theory of Criminal Justice. Article 12 of the Criminal Code (CC) states that “A person bears criminal responsibility if, at the time he or she commits an offence, has reached the age of fourteen. A person who commits a criminal contravention bears responsibility at the age of sixteen.”

2.2 Legal procedures

Article 28, p. 2 of the Albanian Constitution

“The person whose liberty has been taken away, according to article 27, paragraph 2, subparagraph c) must be sent within 48 hours before a judge, who shall decide upon his pre-trial detention or release not later than 48 hours from the moment he receives the documents for review.”

Article 35, CPC, Assistance provided to the juvenile defendant

1. The juvenile defendant shall be provided legal and psychological assistance at any stage and instance of the proceedings by the presents of the parents or other persons requested by a juvenile and accepted by the proceeding authority.

2. The proceeding authority may carry on actions and compile acts for which is required the participation of the juvenile without the presence of the persons indicated in the paragraph 1 only when this is in the interest of the juvenile or when the delay may impair seriously the proceedings, but always in the presence of the defence lawyer.

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Every person when stopped or arrested should be made aware by the police of his / her rights. However none of the juveniles we met in police station and pre-trial detention centers was made aware of their rights. In all of the cases observed for this report none of the juveniles was made aware of his rights by the appropriate authority even after the end of the legal process.

One the obligations of the police is to provide to the child immediately and throughout the process the assistance of a lawyer and notify the family of the child. None of the juveniles that we interviewed during the fact-finding mission had his family notified or his / her lawyer made available. In many cases police officers were observed to call the defending lawyers only when the child is presented to the court for the security measure.

Juveniles, who do not have Albanian as their mother-tongue, have the right to speak, be interviewed and be defended in their language. However none of the juveniles we interviewed needed such assistance and no violations were reported. Nevertheless, on the other side we noticed that Police are not prepared to deal with this issue and they don’t have capacities to make a translator available to a juvenile at the moment of arrest.

Another procedure where Police face difficulties is the verification of the age of the juvenile. Because juveniles in many cases feel threatened by the police officers, they refuse to declare their age and home address. We have found more than once that police officers use violence against juveniles just to get this information on time.

When it comes to the legal procedures of trials for juveniles, there is a contradiction between the Criminal Procedure Code (CPC) and the way the trials are held. Article 13 of CPC, paragraph 4 says that the trials of juveniles should be held by special sections, established at the First Instant Courts, decided by a decree of the President of the Republic. However the President of Albania, who also heads the Justice Council of Albania, has not decreed the establishment of such sections. This means that the Criminal Section of the court judges all the juvenile offenders. To make the matters worst in early 2004 Courts of Serious Crimes were established in Albania, with the mandate to judge crimes with sentences above 15 years of imprisonment. So far there have been two juveniles tried in these Courts, judges of which lack sensitivity and training on CRC or other child rights standards.

2.3 Best interest of the child

“In all actions concerning children, whether by public or private social welfare institutions, courts of law, administrative authorities or legislative bodies, the best interest of the child shall be a primary consideration.”

Article 3, UNCRC

The Criminal Code and the Criminal Procedure Code do not mention specifically the best interest of the child, as one of the guiding principals of the juvenile justice. The same does apply to the overall legislation dealing with children’s rights in Albania.

The best interest of the child is either known or applied by the justice system in the country. The fact that the legal processes for children take a long time to end, sending and keeping children in pre-trial detention center for minor offences, and lack of application of alternative measures show how little consideration is given by the justice system to the best interest of the child.

16 2.4 Sanctions towards juveniles

The Criminal Code of Albania does not have a specific section to deal with sanctions against children.

However the lawmakers taking into consideration the age and understanding of a juvenile, in Article 52 of the Code, have accepted that a juvenile may be excluded by being punished. In the understanding of the researchers, Article 52 has never been used in any case brought by the Court against juveniles. Article 52, under the heading “Excluding minors from punishment”, reads:

“The court, considering the irrelevant dangerousness of the criminal act, estimating the concrete circumstances under which it was committed, and the previous behavior of the minor, may exclude him from punishment.

In this case the court may decide to place the minor to an educational institution.”

Meanwhile, Article 53 reads:

“In special cases, when the court deems that both the act and the person who committed it are of irrelevant dangerousness and there exist mitigating circumstances, the court may sentence under the minimum or may decide a punishment milder than the one provided for in the respective provision.”

The Criminal Code has previewed the application of an alternative measure, i.e. educational institution, which at the present does not exist. We have reported about the lack of an educational institution in our Report of 2000, but nothing has changed since then.

Other measures that may be applied towards the juveniles include: fragmentation of imprisonment, suspension of the sentence (usually known as conditional freedom), and performance of labor in favor of public interest.

2.5 Deprivation of liberty

Article 37, UN Convention on the Rights of the Child

States Parties shall ensure that:

(a) No child shall be subjected to torture or other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment. Neither capital punishment nor life imprisonment without possibility of release shall be imposed for offences committed by persons below eighteen years of age;

(b) No child shall be deprived of his or her liberty unlawfully or arbitrarily. The arrest, detention or imprisonment of a child shall be in conformity with the law and shall be used only as a measure of last resort and for the shortest appropriate period of time;

(c) Every child deprived of liberty shall be treated with humanity and respect for the inherent dignity of the human person, and in a manner, which takes into account the needs of persons of his or her age. In particular, every child deprived of liberty shall be separated from adults unless it is considered in the child's best interest not to do so and shall have the right to maintain contact with his or her family through correspondence and visits, save in exceptional circumstances;

(d) Every child deprived of his or her liberty shall have the right to prompt access to legal and other appropriate assistance, as well as the right to challenge the legality of the deprivation of his or her liberty before a court or other competent, independent and impartial authority, and to a prompt decision on any such action.

17 Article 51 of the C.C. deals with deprivation of liberty, as one of the sanctions towards juveniles. There is no article or sentence in the Code, which suggests to the Court, that imprisonment should be the last measure to be taken towards a juvenile. Article 51, under the heading “Imprisonment sentencing of minors”, writes:

“For minors, who at the time when they committed the criminal act were under 18 years old, the imprisonment sentence may not exceed half of the term of punishment provided for by law for the criminal act committed.”

2.6 Alternative Measures

The Criminal Code of Albania has separate chapter dealing with alternative measures, although the Code does not have alternative measures being implied only for juveniles. Among a short list of alternative measures, we can mention:

• Fragmentation of imprisonment (Art. 58, C.C) which writes that for punishments up to one year of imprisonment, if the court notices grave family, medical, professional, or social circumstances, it may decide the fragmentary execution of the sentence for not less than two days per week.

• Suspending the execution of a sentence (Art. 58, C.C) saying that if the person and the circumstances under which the criminal act was committed are of little dangerousness, the court, while sentencing up to five years of imprisonment, may rule the probation of the convicted, thus suspending the execution of the sentence, provided that during probation he will not commit any other criminal act equally serious or more serious than the previous one. Probation extends from eighteen months to five years.

• Suspension of imprisonment and compulsion to perform labour in favor of public interest (Art 63, C.C) under which the court may suspend the imprisonment sentence if the latter is under one year, and replace it with the compulsion to perform labour in favor of public interest, if the person and the circumstances under which the criminal act was committed are of little danger. Labour in favor of public interest extends from forty to two hundred and forty hours and consists in compelling the convicted to perform unpaid labour in favor of public interest or to the benefit of an organization as nominated in the court verdict.

2.7 Gender perspective

One sensitive issue that we covered during the interview and discussions with police officers in police stations and pre-trial detention centers were the gender issues. Female juveniles need extra care and protection during their stay in these institutions. However, with exception of Tirana Pre-trial detention centre, where there is a female section and appropriate staff, none of other police stations and pre-trial detention centers has either appropriate cells or staff to deal with young girls and women.

In the pre-trial detention center of Korça, we came in contact with the only female juvenile on our mission, a 15 years old girl. Police staff working in the center were only male and in our understanding none of them had ever been trained on gender issues or women rights. The 15 year old girl B. C. was kept in her cell and for security reasons her door was padlocked with two locks. The Officer in Charge of the Cells held one of the keys and the Officer in Charge (sitting in the upper floor) of the Korça Police Station meanwhile kept the second lock key. It was impossible for the pre-

18 trial center to provide the most basic services to B.C. such as shower toilets etc. The same situation was present in all visited police stations.

3 Situation of Juveniles in Police Stations and Pre-trial detention centers

3.1 Exercise of children’s rights

Article 40, UN Convention on the Rights of the Child

1. States Parties recognize the right of every child alleged as, accused of, or recognized as having infringed the penal law to be treated in a manner consistent with the promotion of the child's sense of dignity and worth, which reinforces the child's respect for the human rights and fundamental freedoms of others and which takes into account the child's age and the desirability of promoting the child's reintegration and the child's assuming a constructive role in society.

2. To this end, and having regard to the relevant provisions of international instruments, States Parties shall, in particular, ensure that: ------(iii) To have the matter determined without delay by a competent, independent and impartial authority or judicial body in a fair hearing according to law, in the presence of legal or other appropriate assistance and, unless it is considered not to be in the best interest of the child, in particular, taking into account his or her age or situation, his or her parents or legal guardians; (iv) Not to be compelled to give testimony or to confess guilt; to examine or have examined adverse witnesses and to obtain the participation and examination of witnesses on his or her behalf under conditions of equality; ------

4. A variety of dispositions, such as care, guidance and supervision orders; counseling; probation; foster care; education and vocational training programmes and other alternatives to institutional care shall be available to ensure that children are dealt with in a manner appropriate to their well-being and proportionate both to their circumstances and the offence.

The Convention on the Rights of the Child is directly applicable to the work of Police Stations and Pre-trial detention centers in Albania. The state parties have the obligation to provide appropriate education and recreational facilities, appropriate food, health coverage and social services to children in police stations. Meanwhile they should guarantee the freedom of information and expression and respect children’s views.

3.2 Investigation of juveniles cases

It is clear from all detainees interviewed that the legal process in Albania is a long drawn out affair. International standards require that juvenile detainees should be put before the courts at the earliest possible moment.

In Albania we discovered that all the juveniles we questioned complained of the length of time that it took to get their case heard before a court of law. In many cases the Courts depend to the local Prosecutors’ Office work. As most of these offices are loaded with criminal investigations and trials, little attention is given to offences committed by juveniles. In more than one case we have found that

19 juveniles have been awaiting trial for a period of more than three months and have never met with the Prosecutor’s and Investigation Police.

A major concern that has come to our attention is the appointing of barristers by the prosecutor’s offices. The Albanian Government based on the CPC is obliged to offer free of charge legal assistance to every individual that cannot afford to pay the legal aid. The procedure is that Barristers register themselves on the List of Available Barristers in the Prosecutor’s offices. Then if a case appears before a Prosecutor, he / she will call one of the Barristers on the List as a defender. Unfortunately, in several cases that we have followed to the Court, many of these barristers seem to have negotiated all the procedures and other important legal maters with prosecutors, without meeting or interviewing the juveniles. We strongly believe that this is an irregular activity carried out between prosecutors and barristers, in order to finish the investigation and trials of juveniles as soon as possible, without giving a chance to the juveniles to present their evidence.

L.S. in Korca is still in the pre trial detention centre even though he was arrested seven months before. He has been accused of theft and has secured a lawyer with payment but this fact makes little difference in an overworked and inefficient legal system. There are too many cases waiting to be heard and not enough courts or trained personnel to hear them. It is because of this fact that many in the pre trail detention centres feel that they have been forgotten by the system.

The legal and internal procedures of the Pre-trial detention centers ask that a person shall be transferred to a prison, when his trial has ended. However in more than one case we have found that juveniles are kept in pre-trial detention centers month after the court has sentenced them. This is a violation of Albanian laws and of the international standards.

3.3 Torture, violence against children and treatment of juveniles by Police

Article 25, the Albanian Constitution

“No one may be subjected to cruel, inhuman or degrading torture, punishment or treatment.”

Violence against children in police stations, pre-trial detention centers and prisons is prohibited by the Albanian Constitution article 25. Article 4 of the Criminal Procedure Code confirms the same statement. There is also a set of regulations concerning the treatment of detainees, where torture and violence are prohibited.

However in reality torture, violence, inhuman and degrading treatment of children in police station and pre-trial detention centers is an every day phenomena. Albania has ratified the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (CAT) in May 1994. However the Albanian Government didn’t present its Report until 2003. The CAT Report is to be heard by the Committee against Torture in May 2005, where the cases of torture against juveniles in prisons, will make an important part of the concerns that the Committee will take into consideration.

20 For the purposes of this report the definition of torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment include: Article 1, Convention Against Torture (Ratified by Albania 11 May 1994)

For the purposes of this Convention, torture means any act by which severe pain or suffering, whether physical or mental, is intentionally inflicted on a person for such purposes as obtaining from him or a third person information or a confession, punishing him for an act he or a third person has committed or is suspected of having committed, or intimidating or coercing him or a third person, or for any reason based on discrimination of any kind, when such pain or suffering is inflicted by or at the instigation of or with the consent or acquiescence of a public official or other person acting in an official capacity. It does not include pain or suffering arising only from, inherent in or incidental to lawful sanctions.

Article 16, Convention Against Torture

Each State Party shall undertake to prevent in any territory under its jurisdiction other acts of cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment which do not amount to torture as defined in article 1, when such acts are committed by or at the instigation of or with the consent or acquiescence of a public official or other person acting in an official capacity. In particular, the obligations contained in articles 10, 11, 12 and 13 shall apply with the substitution for references to torture or references to other forms of cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment.

All the juveniles that were interviewed during the mission declare that they were subjected to torture and violence in a way or another during their arrest. Few juveniles said that they were subjected to torture or violence while in pre-trial detention centers. Nevertheless, there was a common understanding among the juveniles that if they passed what is considered a limit by the police officers, violence would be used against them at any time. On the whole treatment of juveniles by police in pre trial detention centres was positive. In most instances they showed respect and tolerance towards those in their care. However this is not the case of Police Officers working in Police Stations.

M.C. a 16 years old boy in Vlora was arrested summer 2002 and later on charged for murder. M.C never accepted that he had committed the offence and during the interview was insisting that he was charged with no reason. M.C told to CRCA team his story:

“They put me in the Police van and didn’t tell me where we were going. After some 20 minutes of driving we stopped in this place and they took me out. Then they kept asking me whether that was the place where I committed the murder. I kept saying that I hadn’t committed any murder and they kept slapping and punching me. I started to cry. Then they told me to take my clothes off. One of the police officers came from behind and starting beating me on my back side with a baton. Then another police ordered me to bend over and he put the baton inside me...”

At the moment when CRCA Team interviewed M.C, he showed clear signs of posttraumatic stress disorder. However no psychosocial help was made available to MC throughout his stay in the pre-trial detention center of Vlora.

In July 2004, Erigert Ceka a 17 years old boy was injured in Police Station of Reshen, a few days after he was charged with the robbery of a British citizen. Erigert died in a Hospital of Tirana, two days after he was sent for medical treatment by the Police. There has never been a clear version from the Police Authority of Reshen for the causes of death of the 17 year old boy and it is still not clear whether the boy died because he had a fight with one of the inmates, or he died because of violence from police officers. A Criminal investigation was immediately opened by the Prosecutor’s office and two police officers were charged with violation of rules of service. None of the inmates of Erigert Ceka was investigated or charged for murder.

21

S.T. 17 years old and his younger brother E.T. 15 years old were arrested during 2004 for armed robbery. They were kept in pre-trial detention centre of Gjirokastra since three months, and no trials were carried out so far. S.T. was sharing his room with a 52 years old man, and two young people 19 and 26 years old.

“The police arrested us at home and brought us in the Police station. They put us to the office of one of Investigation Police officers. There were four guys with uniform there. They kept me and my brother separated. The police kept asking where we were hiding the gun and the money. First one was slapping me, and a second one kept punching me in my face and chest. Then the third one got a baton and kept beating me in my legs and back. The fourth kept punching me to, after the other ones were tired. This situation went on for some four hours. I told them at the beginning where I had put the gun and the money, but they didn’t believe me. Then few hours later, I remember was night time, they sent me to the office of the Head of Public Order Police, where I met their boss. They kept punching and beating me again. There was blood on my face but they didn’t care. They did the same things to my young brother also…”

T.R. explains “I was bundled into the back of a police van were the chief of the local police plus three others beat me. They used their fists and continued to beat me with the leg of a chair for hours.”

L.X. says: “When I was arrested I was frightened, the police were very violent beating and punching my body, they said they wanted to teach me a lesson.”

3.4 Sexual abuse and sexual life of juveniles

A. SH and G.M were 17 years old when both became victims of sexual abuse in the pre-trial detention centre of Saranda. They were sharing their cell with seven other male detainees, one juvenile 16 years old and six adults between 20 and 27 years old. At the time when they were interviewed by CRCA team both juveniles were 18 years old. A. SH told the Team that he was raped continuously during a 3- 4 months period; meanwhile G.M denied the fact that he was sexually abused. However the abuse was also confirmed by F.S, who was sharing the same cell during the time of the abuse.

F.S told this story to the CRCA Team:

“I have never been sexually harassed or abused during my six months stay in pre-trial. However two other guys A.SH and G.M were raped in my presence. I remember that we had these two new guys in the cell, one 20 and the other 27. We were nine people in the cell. One night they got both boys, took their clothes off and had sex with them. Although both of them were crying no one came to their help. The older guys asked me whether I wanted to have sex with them, but I never did. All the other guys (6 adults) in the cell had sex with them. This story continued for some two or three months. The police officers new about this, but they did nothing. Only when a new Head of Police Station came here, the police changed the cells for A. SH and G.M”

Meanwhile A.SH told to us:

“There were these two guys one 20 and the other one 27. One night, maybe around one or two o’clock in the morning they obliged me to have sex with them. I told them to stop, but none of them did. They will see what happens to them when I go out of here… I never made a complaint to the police, because that would have been shameful for me.”

22 We presented this case to the Police Authorities of Saranda, including the police officers serving in pre-trial detention centre. None of the police officers had ever been presented with a complaint for sexual abuse and rape by a juvenile. Asked whether they had received any information that juveniles were having sex with adults, they said “No”. When the team asked the Police officers why they had changed the cell of A.SH and G.M, the answer was because both juveniles had complained that they could no longer stay in that cell. This happened at least three months after the juveniles were sexually abused by adult detainees. There was no action taken against the offenders either by juveniles or police authorities.

There were no reports of any sexual abuse between staff and juveniles in police stations and pre-trial detention centers. However it is very difficult to get accurate data on this as most juveniles feel embarrassed or somehow ashamed to talk of these issues.

One of the questions we put to the police authorities and juveniles is whether the juveniles have a sexual life, while in pre-trial detention centre. The police officers deny the fact that there may be a sexual life for juveniles. One of the Police Officers in Gjirokastra said to us:

“We have to monitor the cells every ten minutes. It would be very difficult for a juvenile to engage in a sexual act with himself or someone else in the cell. Many of these guys do not even know what sex is about…”

There are no information materials in Pre-trial detention centers concerning sexuality and sexually transmitted diseases (STD), including AIDS made available to juveniles.

GD says when asked if anyone has sexually harassed him “Know one has touched me but I have heard stories of things like that happening.”

3.5 The right to keep contacts with the family

The rooms were meetings take place between the detainees and their families are often no more than a wall separated by bars. The bars are covered with mesh to prevent the two parties from touching or passing items from person to person.

Visits are permitted once every ten days and each visit lasts a maximum of 15 minutes. In some places because of the overpopulation the meetings with the family members were as short as 5 minutes.

During this time the detainees have an opportunity to talk with someone from their family and to receive food parcels or other items required for showering etc. These meetings are always strictly supervised and parcels inspected.

The boys we met look forward to each meeting, as it is their only contact with the outside world. They spoke of feeling excited when they received presents from the people who visit. Even though visits are only permitted three times per month it appears that this is one of the highlights that the juveniles look forward to.

3.6 Conditions of cells and overpopulation

Conditions in the cells vary greatly from facility to facility. In Korça the rooms were quite large but the walls were dirty and the window above quite small. The paintwork inside the cell was peeling and

23 the plaster crumbling because of the effect of damp. The electric light was kept switched on 24 hrs, in all pre-trials visited by the Team.

In Elbasan even although there were four juveniles in the room there were only three mattresses. The detainees complained that during the night it was cold. Each institution provided blankets and extra ones were brought in by the families of the detained. However the blankets in the rooms were often unclean and during the day were used to cover the floor.

In Gjirokastra the rooms were a lot smaller and much darker. Again plastic bottles and buckets were used as makeshift toilets and these were kept inside the cell. In Shkodra the cells ranged from the small to the large. Some rooms had 30 people crammed into them whilst the smaller ones would accommodate 6 to 10 persons.

The cells in Elbasan recently had the wooden floors replaced and this helped in the general appearance of the accommodation. However there was severe overcrowding in this particular pre trial detention centre.

It should be noted that because of a lack of ventilation and the fact that all of the detainees smoke the quality of air inside each cell was substandard.

3.7 Conditions of other facilities for juveniles

In all the facilities visited the ablution areas are a major cause for concern. Little if anything has changed since our previous report in March 2003. All the ablution areas were substandard. Showers and toilet units were cracked or more seriously damaged. Sinks supplied only cold water and were often encrusted with dirt and stuffed with toilet paper. Soap was not provided and this had to be obtained from relatives on the outside.

In all the facilities the showering units were open with no dividing units and provided no privacy for those having showers. There seemed to be a complete lack of effort to ensure that toilets were cleaned with the staff blaming the condition on a lack of investment from the state and the lack of the detainees to keep them clean. It was the duty of the detainees to keep the ablution areas clean though with a complete lack of cleaning materials it remains to be seen as to how this can be maintained. Toilette paper is not used or made available to all detainees in all visited toilettes of pre-trial detention centers.

In Gjirokastra, Elbasan and Shkodra there is severe overcrowding, this in turn puts a great deal of pressure on the ablution facilities, which in turn because of over usage get blocked and because of a lack of time are left unclean.

It is the responsibility of the juveniles to supply their own soap, shower gel shampoo etc. Showers are allowed twice per week, but many juveniles reported that if they were lucky they could get a few minutes of shower once every ten days.

3.8 Food and nutrition

“Every detention facility shall ensure that every juvenile receives food that is suitably prepared and presented at normal meal times and of a quality and quantity to satisfy the standards of dietics, hygiene and health...” (UN Rules for the Protection of Juveniles Deprived of Liberty, Art. 37)

24 At all the pre trial detention centres there were complaints about the quality and the quantity of the food served.

The menu in all places visited consisted of the following:

Breakfast: Tea and bread Lunch: Soup and bread Dinner: Beans and bread

Basic hygiene rules were not observed in any of the facilities visited. The daily supply of bread was piled uncovered on a table whilst adult detainees brushed the floor. At one point in the pre trial detention centre of Gjirokastra one of the adult detainees was observed putting the implements that he had used for cleaning on top of the bread. Lunch and Dinner was served from large plastic or aluminum buckets, which again remained, uncovered and often remained in the halls for a long period of time.

It should be noted that the food was often supplemented with food brought into the pre trial detention centres by the juvenile’s families. This extra food was never refrigerated, because there are no refrigeration facilities, and was allowed to remain inside the cells of the detainees or storage rooms. In Shkodra each detainee had a locker situated in the hall of the main detention block that he could use to store food that had been brought in by relatives.

Food was eaten on top of a blanket on the floor. No tables or chairs were provided at mealtime. In Elbasan food in cells was stored directly beside buckets and bottles that were used as toilets when the detainees were not allowed to visit the bathroom.

3.9 The right to education and other leisure activities

All facilities visited apart from Korça had no educational provision. Education provision was basic and provided on a non-formal basis.

In Korça a teacher visited on a non-formal basis for a maximum of 1 hour every two days. However there were no visits on weekends or on public holidays. The teaching according to the boys interviewed was of a basic standard and the facilities available were of a substandard level. The most common subject taught was Mathematics.

In Korça classes for the three juveniles took place in the room used for visiting lawyers. This room was small with one chair and table for the teacher and two other chairs, which could be used by the detainees. No desks were provided for the detainees and there was no blackboard available for the teacher.

In the pre trial detention centres there is little if any form of recreation. In these facilities all forms of literature are forbidden. Newspapers, books or printed materials are not allowed. This in turn means that the detainees have little to occupy their time.

F.T told us: “We are supposed to be allowed access to the airing room, a small outside yard enclosed on all sides but with the roof covered with bars. We are allowed to stay there for one hour each day. Many days we don’t have access to this room because our time is spent cleaning the corridors of the pre trial detention centre”

25 These rooms we are told gets very overcrowded as the guards have the habit of cramming as many people into the room as possible. TV and electronic broadcasts are not available, nor is sport offered in any form.

RL tells us “Some times we get so bored that we sing songs to pass the time.”

3.10 Medical assistance

Like educational provision the provision of medical assistance was somewhat erratic. In none of the facilities visited was there any specific area assigned for medical treatment. Medical examinations were held either inside the cell or in a waiting room that doubled up as a doctor’s room.

Detainees complained of extreme delays concerning the visits of Doctors. Also complaints were made against doctors who failed to give proper treatment in the form of painkillers when asked to do so by detainees.

In the interview room in Gjirokastra the following drugs along with a blank book of medical prescriptions were lying on top of a table. These included the following drugs:

- Lorazepam - Mebhidroline - Amitriptiline

When questioned it was discovered that the most common drug dispensed were of the antidepressant variety. The cheapest variety of a particular type of drug was always used and these were not always within the sell by date. As a result some detainees complained of feeling worse after they had taken medication than they were before.

One of the major concerns that we faced in every station is the lack of professionalism and human rights awareness of the medical staff in police stations and pre-trial detention centers. As ill treatment is widely used in police stations against juveniles, the medical staff often comes in contact and should treat the children abused by the police. Doctors have the professional obligation to report all the cases of torture, abuse and ill treatment. So far there has never been a single report or complain of torture or abuse made by a Doctor. The main reason is because Doctors are employed and considered staff of the Police Station and not of the local Health Authority.

3.11 Psycho-social services for juveniles

No provisions have been made to allow persons in the psychosocial field entrance to pre-trial detention centres. However on the list of approved institutions / persons allowed entering in a pre trial detention centres, NGO’s are permitted.

The Children’s Human Rights Centre of Albania (CRCA) through its Child Legal Protection Office provides free of charge, experts to help children in conflict with the law. Psychosocial assistance is also offered by qualified social workers in Tirana. The main aim of this centre is to lessen the physical suffering and mental anxiety of children, to improve the status of the child in the legal and judiciary system, and to offer psychosocial assistance. To date the Child Legal Protection Office has helped a large number of juveniles in their quest for fair justice, since its establishment in January 2000.

26 4 Conclusions and Recommendations

4.1 Conclusions

a) The Albanian Government does not have the political will to reform the justice system and make it child-friendly.

The Albanian Government does not have any provisions or the political will to establish Juvenile Courts or a System for the Administration of Juvenile Justice. Although the Ministry of Justice is taking steps to improve the juvenile justice legislation, no one is taking steps to build a system that respects children rights and develops the human values of juveniles detained in police stations, pre-trial detention centers or prisons. The Albanian Government either has any prevention or rehabilitation and reintegration programmes that can facilitate juveniles integration in society.

b) Torture and violence against juveniles is widely used by the police officers in Police Stations.

Torture is prohibited by the national and international standards approved and ratified by the Albanian Parliament. The Albanian Constitution, the Criminal Code and other laws prohibit the use of torture. However in more than one case we have faced the same type of torture and violence is used against children. The torture and violence is carried out during the holding and the arrest of children in public places and inside the police stations. Although many organisations have complained about this phenomenon neither the Government of Albania nor the Ministry of Public Order has taken appropriate measures to stop the use of torture and violence against juveniles.

c) Children and adults are kept in the same cells

Children are being kept in the same cells with the adults. This method can have dire effects on the best interest of the child. The children can become conditioned by their adult inmates and in many cases can continue to be offenders when they are released.

d) Cases of Rape and sexual abuse of juveniles are not dealt properly and fairly by Police Authorities

Adult detainees raped two juveniles in Police Station of Saranda, while they were under the care of police authority. Although it is believed that police officers had information that children were continuously being sexually abused, no measures were taken on time either to initiate criminal legal proceedings against the adult offenders, or to put the juveniles in a separate cell.

e) Prosecutors’ Offices and Courts during legal proceedings do not take into consideration the best interest of the child, as a prior consideration.

The children who have been arrested and detained in Pre-trial detention centres are being kept for a long time under investigation or trials procedures. Both, Courts and Prosecutors’ Offices in the legal proceedings involving children do not take into consideration “the best interest of the child”. The same judges and prosecutors that deal with adults take into consideration and judge the offences committed by children.

f) Juveniles in Police stations and Pre-trial detention centres live in inhuman and degrading conditions.

Juveniles in Police stations and Pre-trial detention centres live in inhuman and degrading conditions. The children in Pre-trial detention centres are not divided in cells with other children, but most of them share the space with adults. Generally they are divided in cells based on similar offences committed by them or the adult

27 inmates. The Pre-trial detention centres are crowded and the cells have double the number of people allowed. In the cells there is little air circulation, because of the damp on the walls and the windows are as small as 60 cm long by 20 cm high. The children spend their time in cells by smoking and talking to other inmates. Books, newspapers, TV, Radio and other forms of education, information and communication are not allowed, based on the Guidelines for the Security of the Detainees10 adopted by the Ministry of Public Order. There were no fridges or washing machines in the Pre-trial detention centres.

Children in Pre-trial detention centres suffer because of the lack of quality and the quantity of the food. The menu in a Police station or Detention Centre includes tea and bread for breakfast; soup or beans for lunch and soup or rice for dinner. The cooking utensils are made of aluminum or plastic and the detainees are not allowed to use spoons or forks. Most of the children complain about the quality and quantity of food and many have to survive with the food provided by their families once every ten days.

g) Pre-trial detention centres deny the right to education to juvenile detainees.

The children in Pre-trial detention centres are not allowed to follow any form of formal or non-formal education. Based on the Guidelines the list of officials and other people allowed to enter a Detention Centre does not include officials of the Ministry of Education or other local educational authorities including teachers. By denying the right to education to juveniles, the Albanian Government and its institutions are acting in violation of Article 28 of the Convention on the Rights of the Child.

4.2 Recommendations

For the Albanian Government

- The Albanian Government shall establish a Child Care and Protection Office, with the final aim of building a contemporary system of services for child care and protection throughout the country.

- The Albanian Government shall increase the budget given to the Ministry of Public Order and Ministry of Justice, in order to support the reform on juvenile justice.

- The Albanian Government shall press the Ministry of Justice and Ministry of Public Order for a national plan for the establishment of a system for the administration of juvenile justice.

For the Albanian Parliament

- The Albanian Parliament shall organise monitoring missions to review the conditions of juveniles in police stations, pre-trial detention centers and prisons.

- The Albanian Parliament shall organise every year public hearings with the participation of relevant Ministers / Ministries and NGO representatives, in order to review the situation of juvenile justice in Albania.

10 No. 1075, dated on 15.09.1999, signed by the Minister of Public Order.

28 For the Ministry of Public Order

- The Ministry of Public Order shall urgently issue a Memo for Police Stations and Pre-trial detention centers and its staff, including Investigation Police, to prohibit the use of torture and violence against detainees, with the special focus children and juveniles. This memo should also include the consequences to police officers, when torture and violence against children is used.

- The Ministry of Public Order shall improve its data collection system and data analysis for juvenile criminality and crimes against children in Albania. The data shall be disaggregated into age, sex, ethnicity, rural / urban, offences etc.

- The Ministry of Public Order shall take immediate and appropriate steps to prepare and approve Standards of Care and Protection of juveniles in Police Stations and pre-trial detention centers, in partnership with the Ministry of Justice.

- The Ministry of Public Order shall make possible the employment of psychologists and social workers to work in Police stations and pre-trial detention centres as part of the Police organisational structure.

- The Ministry of Public Order shall in partnership with the Ministry of Education make possible the following of formal education for children in pre-trial detention centres.

For the Ministry of Justice

- The Ministry of Justice shall take immediate and appropriate steps to take under its management the Pre-trial detention centers, including the preparation and approval of standards of care and protection of juveniles in pre-trial detention centers and prisons.

- The Ministry of Justice shall improve and implement legislation and policies for juveniles in pre-trial detention centers and prisons, with the final aim of building a child-friendly system for the administration of juvenile justice.

For the Ministry of Education

- The Ministry of Education in partnership with the Ministry of Public Order shall open formal education classes for children in pre-trial detention centres.

For the General Directorate of Police

- The General Directorate of Police shall establish an independent complaints body in order to ensure and monitor that torture and violence against children is not used in Police stations and pre-trial detention centres, and take appropriate steps to follow claims and reports ob torture and violence against juveniles.

- The General Directorate of Police shall take appropriate measures to improve training of police officers, especially Investigation Police on how to deal with children.

29 For the General Prosecutor’s Office

- The General Prosecutor Office shall issue guidelines, based in the articles of the Constitution, Criminal and Criminal Procedures Codes, and the Convention on the Rights of the Child, on how long criminal procedures against children can be held.

- The General Prosecutor Office shall issue a Memo to all Prosecutors in Albania, advising them to use pre-trial and imprisoning as the last resort towards children in conflict with law.

For NGO’s and INGO’s

- NGO’s and INGO’s shall monitor continuously the conditions of juveniles in Police stations and pre-trial detention centres, and make public all the cases of violations of children’s rights.

- NGO’s shall follow up the cases of torture and ill treatment of children in Police stations and pre-trial detentions centres and report them to the relevant authorities, other NGO’s and Mass Media in Albania.

- Offer psychosocial assistance to children in Police stations and pre-trial detention centres.

- Make training available to police officers on the issue of children’s rights and implementation of CRC.

- Advocate and assist the Albanian Government, the Ministry of Public Order, Ministry of Justice and the Ministry of Education to improve their policies and standards for the administration of juvenile justice.

For the Mass Media in Albania

- Report on going and follow up cases of torture and violence against children from the police.

- Make the situation of juveniles in police stations, pre-trial detention centers and prisons a national issue, through the publication of news, reports and interviews from different partners of civil society, including children in conflict with law.

- Eliminate the publication of names, photos, films or other personal data of children in conflict with law in newspapers, magazines, Radio and TV, unless it is necessary for the protection of the child.

30 5. Contacts and Links

Children’s Human Rights Centre of Albania –(CRCA Albanian Ombudsman Office Office address: Pall. Shallvareve, Vila mbrapa Fushave Address: Bulevardi “Dëshmorët e Kombit”, Nr. 3, te Tenisit, Kati III, Tirana / Albania Tirana / Albania Mail Address: Kutia Postare 1738, Tirana Albania Tel: +355 4 22 97 85 Phone / Fax: + 355 4 242264 Tel: 0 800 1111 (for detainees in prisons) E-mail: [email protected] Fax: +355 4 22 60 95 www.crca.org.al E-Mail: [email protected] http://www.avokatipopullit.gov.al/ Information and Research Centre for Children’s Rights in Albania – IRCCRA INSTAT (Albanian Institute of Statistics) Office address: Pall. Shallvareve, Vila mbrapa Fushave Address: Rr. "Lek Dukagjini", Nr 5, Tirana / ALBANIA te Tenisit, Kati III, Tirana / Albania Tel: (355) 4 222411 Mail Address: Kutia Postare 1403, Tirana Albania E-mail: [email protected] Phone / Fax: + 355 4 242264 http://www.instat.gov.al/ E-mail: [email protected] www.crca.org.al/irccra.html Olof Palmes Internationella Centrum (Olof Palme International Center) Child Legal Protection Office Sveavägen 68, plan 5 Office address: Pall. Shallvareve, Vila mbrapa Fushave Box 836, 101 36 Stockholm te Tenisit, Kati III, Tirana / Albania Tel: 08 - 677 57 70 Mail Address: Kutia Postare 1738, Tirana Albania Fax: 08 - 677 57 71 Phone / Fax: + 355 4 242264 E-mail: [email protected] E-mail: [email protected] http://www.palmecenter.se/ www.crca.org.al Soros Foundation Tirana Council of Ministers of the Republic Of Albania Tel: + 355 4 234 621; 248 213 Albanian: Fax: + 355 4 235 855 http://www.keshilliministrave.al/shqip/default.asp E-mail: [email protected] English: http://www.keshilliministrave.al/english/default.asp Defence for Children International Phone: +355 4 229980 International secretariat Fax: + 355 4 234818 1 Rue de Varembé E-mail: [email protected] PO Box 88 E-mail: [email protected] (if you wish to write CH 1211 Geneva 20 directly to the Prime-minister) SWITZERLAND Phone: (+41 22) 734 05 58 Ministry of Justice Fax: (+41 22) 740 11 45 Address: Blvd. “Zog I”, Tirana / Albania E-mail: [email protected] Tel/Fax: + 355 4 259388 http://www.defence-for-children.org/ E-mail: [email protected] Albanian CRC Alternative Report Ministry of Public Order English: http://www.crca.org.al/national%20reports.htm Address: Sheshi “Skenderbej”, No. 3, Tirana / Albania Alb: http://www.crca.org.al/shqip/Raportet%20kombetare.htm E-mail: [email protected] Albanian page: http://www.mpo.gov.al/ Albanian Government CRC Report English page: http://www.mpo.gov.al/anglisht/mrp- English: ENGLISH.htm http://www.mfa.gov.al/english/sektoriraportimeve.asp Albanian: General Directorate of Police http://www.mfa.gov.al/shqip/sektoriraportimit.asp Tel: + 355 4 364 953 E-mail: [email protected] http://www.mpo.gov.al/policia.htm (Available only in Albanian)

General Directorate of Prisons Address: Rr. “Abdi Toptani”, Tirana / Albania Tel/Fax: + 355 4 228292 Tel/Fax: + 355 4 271437

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Copyright Notice The entire contents of this publication copyright © 2003, 2004, 2005 the Children's Human Rights Centre of Albania (CRCA) (CRCA - Tirana)

All readers are permitted and encouraged to use any part of this publication, provided that proper attribution is given to the Children's Human Rights Centre of Albania. No part of this publication may be sold in any form without prior written consent of the CRCA.

The opinions expressed in this book do not necessarily represent the policies or opinions of the CRCA or those of the donors.

Funded by Olof Palme International Center, Defence for Children International and Soros Foundation Tirana.

Published by CRCA, Tirana Published in ALBANIA, December 2003, December 2004, January 2005

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