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COMMITTEE AGAINST TORTURE BEGINS REVIEW OF INITIAL REPORT OF ALBANIA
10 May 2005
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Committee against Torture
MORNING
10 May 2005
The Committee against Torture this morning began its consideration of the initial report of Albania on its efforts to give effect to the provisions of the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment.
Introducing the report, Blendi Vathi, Secretary-General of the Ministry of Public Order of Albania, said the Government of Albania strongly believed that the inherent dignity and the equal and inalienable rights of the individual were the foundation of freedom, justice and peace. The Government unreservedly condemned the use of torture and continued to work with all its international partners, primarily with the United Nations, to combat torture wherever and whenever it occurred.
Mr. Vathi said the respect and protection of human rights constituted one of the fundamental pillars upon which the democratic society in Albania had been founded. He said the Albanian Constitution enshrined the basic principles of democracy, the principles that every citizen had the right to live with dignity in freedom, and every citizen had a right to aspire for a better life and to be given a large number of opportunities to resort to just and fair means in order to attain that dignity.
Alexander M. Yakovlev, the Committee Expert who served as Rapporteur to the report of Albania, said Albania's report was a witness that the Government was fully engaged in the process of implementing the provisions of the Convention. The country was also in the process of transition to a democratic society. Although it had started this process from a difficult position, it was now making progress in its efforts to build a democratic society.
Mr. Yakovlev said that "beautiful laws" should be implemented and citizens should be able to use them on a daily basis. The courts should be able to resolve conflicts through the use of laws with the aim of maintaining the rule of law. With regard to the reform of the judiciary, Mr. Yakovlev asked, among other things, how judges were appointed and if they were protected from being arbitrarily removed.
Ole Vedel Rasmussen, the Committee Expert who served as co-Rapporteur to the report, said a number of cases of torture had been reported in the prison systems of Albania and the discussion with the delegation should concentrate on how to stop the occurrence of such acts. He asked if an individual had direct access to forensic institutions to prove that he was subjected to torture under police custody.
Referring to a recent hunger strike in prisons due to psychological constraints, Mr. Rasmussen said prisoners were made to sleep on the floor and were not allowed any recreational activities. With regard to children, he said the Committee was concerned about the lack of the implementation of an effective juvenile justice system.
Other Committee Experts also raised questions pertaining to the lack of adequate training of police and prison staff and the absence of proper prosecution of perpetrators of torture, reported cases of complicity by police officers in trafficking in human beings, reports of wide-spread arrests, reported cases of torture in prisons and coercive means of interrogation to obtain confessions from suspects, and the existence of an accelerated procedure for admitting asylum seekers, among other things.
Also representing Albania were Representatives from the Ministry of Public Health, the State Police, the Ministry of Public Order, the Ministry of Justice, the Office of the Attorney General and the Albanian Permanent Mission to the United Nations Office at Geneva.
The delegation will return to the Committee at 4 p.m. on Wednesday, 11 May to provide responses to the questions raised by the Committee Experts.
Albania is among the 139 States parties to the Convention and as such it must present periodic reports to the Committee on how it is implementing the provisions of the Convention.
When the Committee reconvenes at 4 p.m. this afternoon, it will hear the responses of Finland to questions which were raised by Experts on Monday, 9 May.
Report of Albania
The initial report of Albania (CAT/C/28/Add.6) contains information on the various legislative, juridical and administrative measures undertaken by the State party to bring legislation in line with the provisions of the Convention. That was also done in conformity with the process of Albanian integration into the European Union. The Parliament had adopted a considerable number of national instruments, which will considerably affect the Albanian integration processes, as well as improve judicial cooperation between organs within the judicial system, national institutions and homologous organs in other countries.
In the framework of commitments for the protection of human rights and freedoms, Albania has signed and ratified most of the conventions and international protocols of the United Nations and the Council of Europe, as well as a number of bilateral agreements in the criminal justice field. Since 1992, when the last execution was carried out, the death penalty has remained in the Criminal Code but the implementation of this punishment was suspended and replaced by life imprisonment.
The main provisions regarding torture are provided in article 25 of the Constitution, which says, “No one may be subjected to torture, and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment”. Article 50 of the Criminal Code provides also that, when the criminal act is committed savagely and ruthlessly, this circumstance aggravates the punishment. Causing a person to commit or attempt suicide because of systematic maltreatment or other systematic misbehaviour, which seriously affects the dignity of the person, by someone upon whom the person is materially or in any other way dependent is punished by a fine or up to five years of imprisonment.
Presentation of Report
BLENDI VATHI, Secretary-General of the Ministry of Public Order of Albania, said the respect and protection of human rights constituted one of the fundamental pillars upon which the democratic society in Albania had been founded. The Albanian Constitution enshrined the basic principles of democracy, the principles that every citizen had the right to live with dignity in freedom, and every citizen had a right to aspire for a better life and to be given a large number of opportunities to resort to just and fair means in order to attain that dignity.
The Government of Albania strongly believed that the inherent dignity and the equal and inalienable rights of the individual were the foundation of freedom, justice and peace, Mr. Vathi said. Where human rights were breached or were under threat, political instability and conflict were the inevitable consequences. The Government unreservedly condemned the use of torture and continued to work with all its international partners, primarily with the United Nations, to combat torture wherever and whenever it occurred.
Mr. Vathi said the right not to be subjected to torture, and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment was a universal right. The primary safeguard for the protection of that right was a democratic society, in which the rights provided by the Convention were of an essential importance and, as much, should be subject to continuous respect and observance.
Mr. Vathi said the Government was fully aware that the concern for human rights and fundamental freedoms was not a reserved domain of States. In Albania, there were many non-state players, both national human rights institutions and non-governmental organizations (NGOs), dedicated to the promotion and protection of human rights, who had been playing a significant role in achieving major results in the human rights field. The Government sought to maintain a positive and constructive relationship with NGOs, and not only in the human rights field.
Discussion
ALEXANDER M. YAKOVLEV, the Committee Expert who served as Rapporteur to the report of Albania, said Albania’s report was a witness that the Government was fully engaged in the process of implementing the provisions of the Convention. The country was also in the process of transition to a democratic society. Although it had started this process from a difficult position, it was now making progress in its efforts to build a democratic society.
Mr. Yakovlev said that "beautiful laws" should be implemented and citizens should be able to use them on a daily basis. The courts should also be able to resolve conflicts through the use of laws with the aim of maintaining the rule of law. The defenders should be able to perform their work through the application of the existing laws.
With regard to the reform of the judiciary, Mr. Yakovlev asked how judges were appointed and if they were protected from being arbitrarily removed. Who was appointed to the Supreme Court and what were the criteria? In addition to the independence of the judges, the use of juries could strengthen the justice system. The presence of the jury would also allow the populous participation in the legal system. He asked if the jury system was being used. How was the lawyers' profession organized in the country? Were the lawyers officials of the Ministry of Justice? He affirmed that lawyers should be independent without any influence from any side.
With regard to the definition of torture, Mr. Yakovlev said the Committee's concern was that the legal system containing the definition of torture should be within the context of article 1 of the Convention. A general definition such as causing bodily harm, for example, could not truly define torture; however, bodily harm inflicted by police during interrogation could by considered as torture.
Mr. Yakovlev asked if the State provided free legal services to victims to defend themselves before the courts. What was the condition required to obtain free legal service?
OLE VEDEL RASMUSSEN, the Committee Expert who served as co-Rapporteur to the report of Albania, said a number of cases of torture had been reported in the prison systems of Albania. The discussion with the delegation should concentrate on how to stop the occurrence of such acts.
Mr. Rasmussen asked if all complaints of torture satisfied the definition as required in article 1 of the Convention. He also wanted to know if public officials were involved in the incidents.
Mr. Rasmussen said obtaining confessions through coercion was a problem in the police interrogation system. Citing the case of an individual who had been harmed while in police custody, he asked if any arrested individual had access to the medical doctor of his choice.
Addressing the issue of detention, Mr. Rasmussen asked the duration of arrest before a suspect was brought before a court to determine his detention. According to the law, an administrative detention of 10 hours and police detention of 24 hours were permissible, but how was that time calculated? Could the two categories of detentions be added together?
Citing an incident of a child who had been tortured, the Rapporteur said Albania reportedly had a problem with torturing juveniles.
The law allowed the use of masks by police during interrogation, Mr. Rasmussen said, recommending that the wearing of masks should be avoided and that the law should be discarded. In any intervention, the police should be identified, through the holding of visible identity numbers or names.
He asked if an individual had direct access to forensic institutions to prove that he was subjected to torture under police custody. How could an individual obtain a medical certificate to start a legal procedure?
Referring to a recent hunger strike in prisons due to psychological constraints, Mr. Rasmussen said prisoners were made to sleep on the floor and were not allowed any recreational activities. Prisoners should be allowed to work so that they could be productive. Children were reportedly being abused in prisons, including sexual violations. The Committee was concerned about the lack of the implementation of an effective juvenile justice system.
Other Committee Experts raised a number of questions. An Expert said non-governmental organizations had indicated that there was a lack of adequate training of police and prison staff and the absence of proper prosecution of perpetrators of torture. He recommended that this situation should be corrected. Turning to the issue of expulsion and refoulement, he asked if such measures were executed in line with the Convention's requirement not to send people to countries where they risked torture. He asked if the delegation could provide the names of those persons subjected to expulsion on national security threats.
Another Expert asked if the police force was the same that served the previous regime and if training was provided to comply with the new profile of the police. It was reported that 330 police officers had been brought before the prosecutor general for legal proceedings. Among those officers, 50 had been caught "red-handed"; what had happened to these and other police officers? She asked about reported cases of complicity by police officers in trafficking in human beings.
Citing reports of wide arrests, an Expert said that the delegation should clarify the situation as to why such arrests were carried out. He also said that he had received information on cases of torture in prisons and coercive means of interrogation to obtain confessions from suspects.
Another Expert asked if the country's legal system provided for an accelerated procedure for admitting asylum seekers. The Government had signed a number of readmission agreements with many European countries, but he wanted to know if the agreements were implemented by Albania. What was the jurisdiction of the military courts? Did the military courts deal with cases in which a soldier committed torture against civilians or was that considered by a civilian court?
* *** *
This press release is not an official record and is provided for public information only.
MORNING
10 May 2005
The Committee against Torture this morning began its consideration of the initial report of Albania on its efforts to give effect to the provisions of the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment.
Introducing the report, Blendi Vathi, Secretary-General of the Ministry of Public Order of Albania, said the Government of Albania strongly believed that the inherent dignity and the equal and inalienable rights of the individual were the foundation of freedom, justice and peace. The Government unreservedly condemned the use of torture and continued to work with all its international partners, primarily with the United Nations, to combat torture wherever and whenever it occurred.
Mr. Vathi said the respect and protection of human rights constituted one of the fundamental pillars upon which the democratic society in Albania had been founded. He said the Albanian Constitution enshrined the basic principles of democracy, the principles that every citizen had the right to live with dignity in freedom, and every citizen had a right to aspire for a better life and to be given a large number of opportunities to resort to just and fair means in order to attain that dignity.
Alexander M. Yakovlev, the Committee Expert who served as Rapporteur to the report of Albania, said Albania's report was a witness that the Government was fully engaged in the process of implementing the provisions of the Convention. The country was also in the process of transition to a democratic society. Although it had started this process from a difficult position, it was now making progress in its efforts to build a democratic society.
Mr. Yakovlev said that "beautiful laws" should be implemented and citizens should be able to use them on a daily basis. The courts should be able to resolve conflicts through the use of laws with the aim of maintaining the rule of law. With regard to the reform of the judiciary, Mr. Yakovlev asked, among other things, how judges were appointed and if they were protected from being arbitrarily removed.
Ole Vedel Rasmussen, the Committee Expert who served as co-Rapporteur to the report, said a number of cases of torture had been reported in the prison systems of Albania and the discussion with the delegation should concentrate on how to stop the occurrence of such acts. He asked if an individual had direct access to forensic institutions to prove that he was subjected to torture under police custody.
Referring to a recent hunger strike in prisons due to psychological constraints, Mr. Rasmussen said prisoners were made to sleep on the floor and were not allowed any recreational activities. With regard to children, he said the Committee was concerned about the lack of the implementation of an effective juvenile justice system.
Other Committee Experts also raised questions pertaining to the lack of adequate training of police and prison staff and the absence of proper prosecution of perpetrators of torture, reported cases of complicity by police officers in trafficking in human beings, reports of wide-spread arrests, reported cases of torture in prisons and coercive means of interrogation to obtain confessions from suspects, and the existence of an accelerated procedure for admitting asylum seekers, among other things.
Also representing Albania were Representatives from the Ministry of Public Health, the State Police, the Ministry of Public Order, the Ministry of Justice, the Office of the Attorney General and the Albanian Permanent Mission to the United Nations Office at Geneva.
The delegation will return to the Committee at 4 p.m. on Wednesday, 11 May to provide responses to the questions raised by the Committee Experts.
Albania is among the 139 States parties to the Convention and as such it must present periodic reports to the Committee on how it is implementing the provisions of the Convention.
When the Committee reconvenes at 4 p.m. this afternoon, it will hear the responses of Finland to questions which were raised by Experts on Monday, 9 May.
Report of Albania
The initial report of Albania (CAT/C/28/Add.6) contains information on the various legislative, juridical and administrative measures undertaken by the State party to bring legislation in line with the provisions of the Convention. That was also done in conformity with the process of Albanian integration into the European Union. The Parliament had adopted a considerable number of national instruments, which will considerably affect the Albanian integration processes, as well as improve judicial cooperation between organs within the judicial system, national institutions and homologous organs in other countries.
In the framework of commitments for the protection of human rights and freedoms, Albania has signed and ratified most of the conventions and international protocols of the United Nations and the Council of Europe, as well as a number of bilateral agreements in the criminal justice field. Since 1992, when the last execution was carried out, the death penalty has remained in the Criminal Code but the implementation of this punishment was suspended and replaced by life imprisonment.
The main provisions regarding torture are provided in article 25 of the Constitution, which says, “No one may be subjected to torture, and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment”. Article 50 of the Criminal Code provides also that, when the criminal act is committed savagely and ruthlessly, this circumstance aggravates the punishment. Causing a person to commit or attempt suicide because of systematic maltreatment or other systematic misbehaviour, which seriously affects the dignity of the person, by someone upon whom the person is materially or in any other way dependent is punished by a fine or up to five years of imprisonment.
Presentation of Report
BLENDI VATHI, Secretary-General of the Ministry of Public Order of Albania, said the respect and protection of human rights constituted one of the fundamental pillars upon which the democratic society in Albania had been founded. The Albanian Constitution enshrined the basic principles of democracy, the principles that every citizen had the right to live with dignity in freedom, and every citizen had a right to aspire for a better life and to be given a large number of opportunities to resort to just and fair means in order to attain that dignity.
The Government of Albania strongly believed that the inherent dignity and the equal and inalienable rights of the individual were the foundation of freedom, justice and peace, Mr. Vathi said. Where human rights were breached or were under threat, political instability and conflict were the inevitable consequences. The Government unreservedly condemned the use of torture and continued to work with all its international partners, primarily with the United Nations, to combat torture wherever and whenever it occurred.
Mr. Vathi said the right not to be subjected to torture, and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment was a universal right. The primary safeguard for the protection of that right was a democratic society, in which the rights provided by the Convention were of an essential importance and, as much, should be subject to continuous respect and observance.
Mr. Vathi said the Government was fully aware that the concern for human rights and fundamental freedoms was not a reserved domain of States. In Albania, there were many non-state players, both national human rights institutions and non-governmental organizations (NGOs), dedicated to the promotion and protection of human rights, who had been playing a significant role in achieving major results in the human rights field. The Government sought to maintain a positive and constructive relationship with NGOs, and not only in the human rights field.
Discussion
ALEXANDER M. YAKOVLEV, the Committee Expert who served as Rapporteur to the report of Albania, said Albania’s report was a witness that the Government was fully engaged in the process of implementing the provisions of the Convention. The country was also in the process of transition to a democratic society. Although it had started this process from a difficult position, it was now making progress in its efforts to build a democratic society.
Mr. Yakovlev said that "beautiful laws" should be implemented and citizens should be able to use them on a daily basis. The courts should also be able to resolve conflicts through the use of laws with the aim of maintaining the rule of law. The defenders should be able to perform their work through the application of the existing laws.
With regard to the reform of the judiciary, Mr. Yakovlev asked how judges were appointed and if they were protected from being arbitrarily removed. Who was appointed to the Supreme Court and what were the criteria? In addition to the independence of the judges, the use of juries could strengthen the justice system. The presence of the jury would also allow the populous participation in the legal system. He asked if the jury system was being used. How was the lawyers' profession organized in the country? Were the lawyers officials of the Ministry of Justice? He affirmed that lawyers should be independent without any influence from any side.
With regard to the definition of torture, Mr. Yakovlev said the Committee's concern was that the legal system containing the definition of torture should be within the context of article 1 of the Convention. A general definition such as causing bodily harm, for example, could not truly define torture; however, bodily harm inflicted by police during interrogation could by considered as torture.
Mr. Yakovlev asked if the State provided free legal services to victims to defend themselves before the courts. What was the condition required to obtain free legal service?
OLE VEDEL RASMUSSEN, the Committee Expert who served as co-Rapporteur to the report of Albania, said a number of cases of torture had been reported in the prison systems of Albania. The discussion with the delegation should concentrate on how to stop the occurrence of such acts.
Mr. Rasmussen asked if all complaints of torture satisfied the definition as required in article 1 of the Convention. He also wanted to know if public officials were involved in the incidents.
Mr. Rasmussen said obtaining confessions through coercion was a problem in the police interrogation system. Citing the case of an individual who had been harmed while in police custody, he asked if any arrested individual had access to the medical doctor of his choice.
Addressing the issue of detention, Mr. Rasmussen asked the duration of arrest before a suspect was brought before a court to determine his detention. According to the law, an administrative detention of 10 hours and police detention of 24 hours were permissible, but how was that time calculated? Could the two categories of detentions be added together?
Citing an incident of a child who had been tortured, the Rapporteur said Albania reportedly had a problem with torturing juveniles.
The law allowed the use of masks by police during interrogation, Mr. Rasmussen said, recommending that the wearing of masks should be avoided and that the law should be discarded. In any intervention, the police should be identified, through the holding of visible identity numbers or names.
He asked if an individual had direct access to forensic institutions to prove that he was subjected to torture under police custody. How could an individual obtain a medical certificate to start a legal procedure?
Referring to a recent hunger strike in prisons due to psychological constraints, Mr. Rasmussen said prisoners were made to sleep on the floor and were not allowed any recreational activities. Prisoners should be allowed to work so that they could be productive. Children were reportedly being abused in prisons, including sexual violations. The Committee was concerned about the lack of the implementation of an effective juvenile justice system.
Other Committee Experts raised a number of questions. An Expert said non-governmental organizations had indicated that there was a lack of adequate training of police and prison staff and the absence of proper prosecution of perpetrators of torture. He recommended that this situation should be corrected. Turning to the issue of expulsion and refoulement, he asked if such measures were executed in line with the Convention's requirement not to send people to countries where they risked torture. He asked if the delegation could provide the names of those persons subjected to expulsion on national security threats.
Another Expert asked if the police force was the same that served the previous regime and if training was provided to comply with the new profile of the police. It was reported that 330 police officers had been brought before the prosecutor general for legal proceedings. Among those officers, 50 had been caught "red-handed"; what had happened to these and other police officers? She asked about reported cases of complicity by police officers in trafficking in human beings.
Citing reports of wide arrests, an Expert said that the delegation should clarify the situation as to why such arrests were carried out. He also said that he had received information on cases of torture in prisons and coercive means of interrogation to obtain confessions from suspects.
Another Expert asked if the country's legal system provided for an accelerated procedure for admitting asylum seekers. The Government had signed a number of readmission agreements with many European countries, but he wanted to know if the agreements were implemented by Albania. What was the jurisdiction of the military courts? Did the military courts deal with cases in which a soldier committed torture against civilians or was that considered by a civilian court?
* *** *
This press release is not an official record and is provided for public information only.
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