IHF FOCUS: elections; judicial system and independence of the judiciary;
torture, ill-treatment and police misconduct; national and ethnic minorities.
The political situation in Albania in 2003 was stable due to the spirit
of consensus between the two major parties—the Socialist Party and the
Democratic Party—and the opposition. This political consensus, marked by the
election of the president in agreement of a wide political range in June 2002,
contributed to the improvement of the domestic political life.
In January 2003, the
European Union opened negotiations for signing the Agreement of Stabilization
and Association with
There were a number of
improvements in the field of human rights. For example, partly due to measures
taken by state authorities, trafficking in women decreased as well as the
smuggling of human beings to the Italian and Greek coasts. Nevertheless, many
problems still remained. The Albanian Helsinki Committee (AHC), which monitored
human rights development in different districts of the country, reported, for
example, on excessive use of force by the police and other forms of police
misconduct, corruption in the judicial system and health institutions, the
failure to execute final court decisions, and unjustified procrastinations of
court proceedings.
During 2003 the process
of transferring pre-trial detention facilities from the Ministry of Public
Order to the Ministry of Justice faced many difficulties. For example, the
Ministry of Justice and the General Directorate of Prisons did not have the financial
means and infrastructure to make such a transfer possible. For this reason,
only one pre-detention facility (in Vlora) was placed under the responsibility
of the General Directorate of Prisons. A newly built prison in Peqin was
opened, and a considerable number of convicted persons who had unjustly been
held in police facilities instead of prisons were moved to the new prison.
Nevertheless, as the opening of the new prison could not alone solve the
problem of overcrowding, many convicted prisoners still had to stay in
pre-trial facilities. Their unacceptable situation was coupled by the fact that
physical conditions in pre-trial detention facilities left much to be desired.
While the relationships
between different ethnic and national groups in
On12 October, local government
elections were held in order to elect the mayors and commissioners in 65
municipalities, 11 municipal units in Tirana and 308 communes in the entire
There were also efforts to improve
the Electoral Code. For example, the new code prescribed the bodies responsible
for the compilation of the voter lists; provided for the establishment of the
Media Monitoring Board; allowed complaints regarding modifications in the
voters’ lists; established the Electoral College at the Court of Appeals in
Tirana as a final decree for complaints under the code; and regulated the use
of public resources during election campaigns. While the AHC voiced concern
over several problems and shortcomings of the new code, it noted as positive as
a positive issue that the Central Electoral Commission (CEC) generally operated
in a professional manner in the 2003 local elections and its work demonstrated
transparency and objectivity. An additional positive measure was the
educational program initiated by the CEC, which was targeted at citizens to
raise their awareness concerning the electoral process.
However, according to the AHC, the
CEC’s performance was obstructed by inappropriate interference in its work by
various political party representatives who were not members of the CEC.
Political pressure was exerted on the CEC throughout the electoral process, but
it became particularly obvious in the aftermath of the elections when the CEC
was to formally announce the final results, based on the counts by Local
Government Electoral Commissions (LGECs). Political parties, especially those
of the opposition, had put pressure on the members of the LGEC not to sign the
results. This had also been in cases where no infringements of the provisions
of the Electoral Code had taken place. Moreover, it appeared that the LGECs
were responsible for the significant delays in announcing the final election
results, especially in the district of Tirana. Under these circumstances, the
CEC should have intervened more efficiently in their work in order to prevent the
delays.
In addition, prior to the elections,
political parties failed to file their proposals for members of LGECs and
Voting Center Commissions (VCC). Such an act led to delays in the establishment
of these bodies.[2]
This consequently resulted in the insufficient training of the commissioners.
Moreover, the LGECs, which were in charge of verifying the documentation of the
candidates for VCCs, in some cases, accepted incomplete documentation submitted
by political parties. Furthermore, the failure of political parties to pay
necessary attention to the qualifications of their candidates impeded the
correct application of the Electoral Code and CEC guidelines. An additional
problem regarding the operation of the LGECs and VCCs was the fact that many
commissioners withdrew from their work and had to be replaced with people
without training. According to the CEC, just prior to the election day, as many
as 923 members of local commissions were asked to be replaced.
The
leaders of both the Socialist Party and the Democratic Party at times resorted
to statements that were politically incorrect and which occasionally unjustly
implied the opponents’ participation in criminal activities or unduly
interfered in their privacy.
Another concern was the
financing of the election campaigns. The decision on public funding of the
elections campaign was made as late as
The media coverage of the electoral campaign was generally
balanced.
The
irregularities reported by the AHC observers about the election procedure
included inaccurate voter lists. For example, names of eligible voters were
missing from the voter lists (sometimes even if they had been rightly
registered on the pre-published lists of voters), or their names had been
registered on the lists of a polling station other than their own. The main
reason for these problems appeared to be the fact that civil registration
offices were not equipped with a computerized data system—a fact the AHC had
pointed to already during earlier elections. The tabulation of votes was
generally carried out in an appropriate manner at the polling station observed
by the AHC, however, in few cases, had the VCC commissioners argued about
technical matters.
A number of
irregularities were also recorded in the timely opening of polling stations.
Furthermore, the ballot boxes turned out to be too small for the large ballot
papers, and the last minute changes in the location of several polling stations
resulted in confusion among the voters during the election day.
On a positive note, the
State Police carried out its duties adequately and in line with
responsibilities prescribed in the Electoral Code for the protection of polling
stations. This was a clear improvement from previous elections. Only a few
violent incidents were reported during the voting day in the district of
Himara, which were settled by the police forces.
For
the first time, the Electoral Code provided clear regulations for the procedure
of filing and handling of complaints on alleged irregularities, and the CEC in
general abided by the prescribed procedure—despite the criticism particularly
from some political activists.
According
to the Albanian Constitution, the judicial power was exercised by the High
Court, the courts of appeal and district courts. In 2003, the Serious Crimes
Court was established. There had been many efforts and proposals to set up
juvenile courts and administrative courts, but the end of 2003 did not witness
these initiatives. In addition, the High Council of Justice and the Judiciary
Budget Administration Office administered the budget of the courts and
supervised the performance of the judges.
In recent years, the judicial system
of
In
addition, the judicial system continued to be affected by the low economic
level of the country, various social problems, and sometimes the gaps in the
laws that had been hastily drafted. The collaboration between the police
organs, attorney’s offices and prison administration with regard to the
execution of final court decisions as well as in their efforts to combat
organized crime was inefficient.
Lack of adequate information as well
as deficiencies in notifying the parties involved in judicial hearings had also
been problematic, violating article 33(1) of the Albanian Constitution, which
provides everyone the right to be heard before being sentenced. Moreover,
unmotivated procrastinations of court proceedings, delays in transferring files
to higher courts, ill-founded court decisions, lack of working discipline of
court administration, lack of solemnity of the court hearings were among the
problems which weakened the public’s respect for the judicial system.
The
execution of court decisions in criminal cases was another central problem:
penal decisions were frequently executed with significant delays. This also led
to prolonged remand of sentenced persons in police stations.
Particular
critique was addressed to the inefficient operation of the bailiff’s offices.
According to a study conducted by the AHC in collaboration with the Ombudsman’s
Office, 86.5% of the interviewees, who had recently dealt with the bailiff’s
offices, said that they had experienced delays between one and twelve months in
the execution of court decisions in their cases. 37.5% out of the 445 persons
interviewed said that the service of these offices offered was satisfactory
while 54.4% were of the opinion that they were either insufficient or
dissatisfactory. Moreover, criticism was voiced about the lack of transparency
in the execution of the penal decisions and the lack of adequate information to
the involved citizens. Only 16.2% of the persons interviewed in the survey
affirmed that the operation of bailiff’s offices were sufficiently transparent.
Moreover, corruption was
widespread in those offices: 12.6% of the interviewed affirmed that they
have been demanded to give money in exchange to the execution of the decision
given in their favor. Over 14% of the interviewed admitted having paid money
either upon request or voluntarily in order to get the desired outcome in their
favor. In addition, the cases in which state institutions were parties,
authorities frequently put pressure on the bailiff’s offices.
The survey showed that
not all the persons in contact with the bailiff’s offices were aware of the
procedures and rules of the execution of decisions. Only 37.8% of the persons
interviewed affirmed that they possessed the necessary knowledge on how to
start procedures at the bailiff’s office. 61% stated that they had little or no
knowledge on the respective procedures and 51% had insufficient knowledge about
their rights.
The
Albanian judicial system inherited a weak infrastructure from the communist
era. Many courthouses have undergone reconstruction and repairs, which has
contributed to the better functioning of courts. While security measures in
courts have been stepped up, they remained insufficient, leading to escapes of
arrestees and feeling of insecurity among the court personnel and public. A
draft law on witness protection as well as draft provisions providing special
protection for judges handling serious crimes was drawn up and was pending in
parliament as of the end of 2003.
Considering that over 40% of the
Albanian population lived in poor economic situations, most individuals
convicted of a crime could not afford to hire a lawyer. Legal aid was offered
by the state to citizens against modest fees, and in case the defendant could not afford to pay the costs, the
defense costs were covered by the state in criminal cases. Free legal aid was
also offered by NGOs. However, all their services were financed by foreign
donors and were consequently dependent on the existence of these donors in
terms of time.
Albanian legislation also provided
for free of charge alternative conflict solution through reconciliation between
the involved parties.
Law No. 7227 of 1993 “On the Adherence of Albania to the Covenant
against Torture, and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment,”
law No. 7510 of 1991 “On the Adherence of Albania to the International Covenant
on Civil and Political Rights” and the ratification of the European Convention
on Human Rights were important formal measures that Albania had committed
itself to in order to guarantee freedom from torture and ill-treatment and for
better respect by the police of the rights of individuals dealing with law
enforcement officers.
Article
25 of the Albanian Constitution forbid the use of torture and other forms of
ill-treatment by the police, and article 28(5) of the constitution provided for
human treatment to and the respect for dignity of all those deprived of
liberty. Article 37 of the law “On the State Police” stated that when
performing their duties, police officers were not allowed to carry activities,
which were not based on laws, or to resort to torture, ill-treatment and other
inhuman or degrading treatment. Article 46 of the same law defined clearly the
limits for the use of force. By law, those who violated these provisions were
to be prosecuted. Also the Criminal Code prohibited the use of torture and
foresaw severe sanctions for those who breached it. In addition, article 314 of
the Criminal Code forbids the use of coercion during interrogation. A violation
of this provision could be punished with three to ten years of imprisonment.
In
practice however, violence by police officials was a cause for concern also
during 2003. The AHC received several reports from victims or their family
members about the unjustified use of violence during police procedures, mainly
at the moment of arrest or during arbitrary house search.
·
In
January, a man was arrested by police officers in Korca and later his death in
custody was reported. There were reasons to suspect that the death resulted
from police ill-treatment. On this occasion, the minister of public order
admitted that there had been cases of illegal use of violence by police forces.
This particular case was being investigated as of this writing and the police
officers were disciplined.
·
In April, the
Chief Alderman of Borje village in the district of Kukes reported to the AHC
that the villagers had complained about the brutal behavior of the police on
the occasion of the escape of two prisoners from Kukes pre-detention facility.
The local police apparently believed that the villagers had helped the
detainees escape. This resulted in strained relations between the population
and the police.
·
In May, former
political prisoners assembled in a peaceful manifestation in Tirana during which the police had reportedly used
excessive force against the protestors.
·
On 24 August,
police officers in the district of Mat (
·
In November, the
minister of public order hit an independent journalist during a social event organized
by the Socialist Party at which media representatives had also been invited. According to reports, the incident took place in the
presence of many witnesses who confirmed the incident.
·
In November,
police ill-treated a young man in the district of Fier. He was
stopped by the police and asked to follow them to a police commissariat. The man refused to obey, insisting to be informed about the
reason for the arrest. A police officer forced him into the van where officers
hit him. An AHC representative confirmed signs of violent treatment on his
back, ankle and on his face.
Almost all the above cases led to police
investigations and in some of these cases, officers were either disciplined or
were dismissed from their jobs. The minister of public order was removed from
office and the case was still under investigation at the time of writing.
A hotline of
the public relations office at the Ministry of Public Order was in operation
and received complaints from the public about police misconduct. An office of
internal control at the ministry investigated the complaints. In addition, the
cases were subsequently submitted to the Prosecutor’s Office.
National
and Ethnic Minorities
According
to the
National and ethnic minorities in
Prior to 2003, three minorities had
the status of “national minorities”: the Greek minority, the Macedonian
minority, and the Serbian- Montenegrin minority. In 2003, the Roma minority
officially gained the same status, although Roma had been treated as a minority
for some time already through special efforts and measures taken by the state.
The Vllach/Arumun minority received the status of a “linguistic minority” in
2003. In addition to the above-mentioned minorities, some minorities such as
Egyptians (“Gypsies”) were recognized as “communities” while the
The lack of official
statistics on minorities in general, impaired the application of related
policies and practices and hence gave way to polemics.
Greek Minority
The Greek minority, settled in the southern part of
According
to the latest official census in 1989, the Greek minority numbered about 60,000
people (while the Greeks themselves cited the figure of 400,000). Following the
collapse of communist regime, the majority of the Greek population moved to
Most political activists
of the Greek minority participated in political life in the ranks of the Party
of the
Greek-language education
was organized by the state in all public schools: in the elementary schools
most subjects were taught in Greek, in the high-school level pupils were given
Greek language classes. However, the lack of textbooks on the subjects of
general history and history of the Greek nation remained a problem as well as
up-to-date textbooks in general. On the other had, the AHC expressed concern
over the poor level of knowledge of the Albanian language among many Greek
pupils, a fact that would later impair their integration and higher studies.
The Greek Language Department “Eqerem Çabej” at the
Local radio stations
transmitted programs in Greek in contrast to public television, stating that
there was a lack of funds.
Macedonian Minority
The Macedonian minority
is concentrated in the Prespa area, near Korca, southeast
The Macedonian language was taught at elementary
school, namely in the areas where most minority members live. Again, the lack
of textbooks in the Macedonian language due to lack of financing was a concern.
An additional issue raised by the representatives of the Liqenasi commune was
that pupils were overburdened by the fact that they had to study a number of
parallel subjects in both the Albanian and the Macedonian languages.
In
order to avoid such overlapping and unnecessary overburdening, the Liqenasi
commune suggested that Albanian literature be taught in the Albanian language
and Macedonian history in the Macedonian language.
Roma Minority
The Roma minority is widely scattered over
Albanian
Roma life remains characteristically nomadic, although the construction of
immobile domicile increases steadily. Roma speak various dialects of the same
language and 60-70% of the Roma settled in central
Most Roma earn their living as vendors of second-hand
clothes or craftsmen while some live on begging. The standard of living of most
Roma was very low. While the Albanian state has not openly promoted
discriminatory policies against Roma—but has rather taken efforts to offer
equal opportunities to them in social, economic, political fields—no specific
measures have been taken to promote their integration into Albanian society. In
2003 the Albanian government approved the National Strategy for Roma minority,
the implementation of which should take 15 years. This strategy covers all
areas of life where problems are in general encountered, as well as a focus on
the problems education.
Education in Romani
language is provided through courses financially supported by the Roma
communities themselves.
In 2003 there were
reports that Romani children faced discrimination in Albanian public schools;
for example, teachers often placed Roma children in the last rows of
classrooms, thus apart from other pupils. Due to this, Roma children did not
receive proper attention in classrooms, and thus had even more difficulties
understanding the Albanian language. Consequently, Roma children started to
abandon school. An additional reason for many Roma children not attending
school was the long and dangerous distances to school.
Serbian-Montenegrin Minority
The Serbian-Montenegrin
minority mainly lives in the Shkodra region. Those of its members who confess
the Orthodox religion are known as Serbian-Montenegrins while those confessing
Islam are called the “Podgorica people.”
The actual number of the
Serbian-Montenegrin minority families, according to the
In 2003, there were no
schools teaching in the native language of the Serbian-Montenegrin minority.
This has been officially justified because of the small size of this minority,
thus not meeting the main criteria for opening a so-called minority school.
The AHC received
complaints from the representatives of this minority claiming that they were
more discriminated against by the state than any other minorities in Albania
(opening schools in their mother tongue, having radio and TV programs in their
language like other national minorities), and alleging that the official figure
regarding the number of population of this minority was not realistic.
According to the leader
of the minority association, the minority was not appropriately represented
either in the local government bodies or in the central government. There were
two representatives of the Serbian-Montenegrin minority in the Shkodra municipality
council. However, it had no representatives in the district council because the
council consists of members of the political parties who won in the local
elections and who had no Serbian-Montenegrin members. For the same reason,
there were no civil servants of this minority in the Shkodra city hall.
Meanwhile, in the public administration structures of Malesia e Madhe (one of
the main areas in which the minority lives) the minority population was
represented in many departments of the local administration, including in the
Public Service Department and in the Finance Department.
The Serbian-Montenegrin
association “Moraca-Rozafa” mediated in efforts to solve minority problems.
Members of this minority had the right to study and apply for scholarships in
the universities of Serbia-Montenegro. In addition, cultural exchange had been
organized with Serbia-Montenegro, including concerts, artistic activities,
etc., aiming at preserving the native traditions.
Vlach-Arumunian Minority
The Vlach-Arumunian has
the status of a “linguistic minority” in
Most Vlach-Arumunian
members are settled in Southern and Central
Vlachs can practice
their Orthodox religion, and in the city of
Of all parties
represented in parliament, most Vlachs were members of the
According to the AHC, the main problematic
issue for this minority is that a considerable state assistant would be needed
to support Vlach-language education. In 2003, the Vlach-Arumun communities
themselves only financially supported it. In addition, the government of
Just
like Roma, the Egyptian minority is scattered over
Egyptians are known to be good
craftsmen working in traditional trades such as blacksmiths, shoemakers, and
tinsmiths. Many children are however beggars. Many of those who have managed to
create a career in
The main problem of the Egyptian
community is the lack of education and extreme poverty, most of them namely
living at a subsistent level. Egyptians have big housing problems and an
extremely high unemployment rate. As a result of all these basic problems, they
suffer from several chronic diseases such as rheumatism, ulcer and anemia. The
manifold of problems has also led to increasing violence, including domestic
violence.
Most Egyptian children do not attend
school, partly due to poverty and partly due to the fact that the awareness of
the need of education by the parents for their children is extremely low. Even
those children that start school usually drop out soon and fail to go through
junior high.
[1]
Based
on the Annual Report 2003 of the
Albanian
[2] According to an official report of CEC spokesman, only around 70% of VCCs were established at a national by 2 October, the legal deadline prescribed in the Electoral Code on the establishment of the VCCs.
[3] The American Jurists Organization, Judicial
Reform in
[4] During 2002, the Institute of Statistics, INSTAT, carried out a survey on minorities in Albania, based on the data gathered during the population census and registration of homes during 2001 as well as on the Living Standard Measurement Survey carried out with the help of World Bank. According to the INSTAT survey, there was a significant decrease in the figure of the minority populaion compared to that of the population census carried out in 1989.