OSCE Presence organizes study visit for Albanian officials to Italy’s 41-bis facilities
From 5 to 9 December 2022, the OSCE Presence in Albania organized a study visit for Albanian officials to the Italian special detention regime 41-bis facilities. The visit was the first of this kind in Albania, following the introduction of the special regime in 2020 based on the model of the Italian 41-bis. The special regime puts several restrictions on the offenders, which, if applied improperly, may lead to violations of human rights.
The 12-member delegation was headed by Prison Police Director Paulin Rajta, and composed of Head of Prisons Internal Oversight Service at the Ministry of Justice Klevis Qose; MP Denis Deliu – member of both the National Security Committee and the Legal Affairs, Public Administration and Human Rights Committee; People’s Advocate Commissioner on the National Mechanism for the Prevention of Torture, Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment Ahmet Prençi; National Legal Officer/Project Manager of the OSCE Presence Alba Jorganxhi, and senior prison staff.
The delegation was hosted by Judge Carlo Renoldi, Head of Department of Penitentiary Administration and by General Brigade Mauro D’Amico, Director of the Operational Mobile Group (Gruppo Operativo Mobile, GOM) under the Italian Ministry of Justice that co-organized and facilitated the study visit.
The participants were equipped with knowledge of the best domestic and international standards on human rights compliant management for high-risk prisoners. They also benefitted from the experience and practices of the Italian Penitentiary Police in the visited prisons. The programme included a visit to 41-bis detention facilities in Sassari and L’Aquila, and a visit to the Penitentiary Training School Giovanni Falcone in Rome, where participants were introduced with the training curriculum for the Italian penitentiary staff.
The study visit was part of the Presence’s project Strengthening human rights protection in Albania and of the extra-budgetary project Rule of law compliant responses to terrorism in the criminal justice system of Albania, which is funded by the governments of Austria and Norway.
The study visit builds upon the Presence’s support to prison reform in Albania and its active involvement in promoting the rights of people in detention. Earlier this year, the Presence developed and delivered a training module for the prison staff of the special regime. In 2021, the Presence organized a training session of prison staff of the Special Regime on the human rights compliant management of high-risk prisoners. In 2020, the Presence prepared an assessment report of the special regime for high security prisoners in Albania, in line with international good practice and in view of the specific needs of the offenders.
Apart from the special regime, the Presence has contributed to the achievements in the penitentiary system by offering legislative support to the legal package on the penitentiary system; working on Preventing and Countering Violent Extremism and Radicalization that Lead to Terrorism (P/CVERLT) in prisons and probation settings; and establishing a Master’s Programme in Criminology at Tirana University.