President of the Republic Bajram Begaj today signed Decree No. 375, dated 30.6.2026, promulgating Law No. 57/2026 “On granting amnesty”.
On the same day, the head of state also decreed Law No. 59/2026 “On the electricity sector” and Law No. 60/2026 “On electronic freight transport information”.
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The criminal amnesty approved by Parliament is expected to bring about the immediate release of 466 convicted individuals, while another 869 will benefit from sentence reductions. With the changes made, the benefit extends to persons who received a final court decision by May 31, 2026.
This scheme includes people convicted of less dangerous offenses, as well as women, minors and the elderly. Excluded from the amnesty are perpetrators of serious crimes, corruption, drug trafficking and cases linked to SPAK.
Among those who will be released immediately are 11 women and 1 minor, while another 8 women and 1 other minor will also receive sentence reductions.
Initially, the amnesty was expected to apply to those who had received a final court decision by December 31, 2025. The latest changes clarify that all those who received such a decision by May 31 of this year will benefit. Prisoners will also be able to benefit even when the final decision from the Court of Appeal has not yet been issued in writing.
The amnesty includes men sentenced to up to 3 years in prison, as well as those given fines or other lighter alternative sentences. For women, the benefit applies to prison sentences of up to 4 years or to measures lighter than these.
Likewise, men who are currently in prison and have up to 3 years left to serve will also benefit, as will women who still have up to 4 years of their sentence remaining.
Another criterion is related to age. This category includes men over 60, women over 50, as well as persons who were under the age of 18 at the time the criminal offense was committed, regardless of the sentence, except in cases where they are in prison for serious offenses that are not covered by the amnesty.
Those convicted of serious criminal offenses will not benefit from the amnesty, including intentional killings and crimes against life, crimes against humanity, rape and sexual crimes, human trafficking, and a series of other serious offenses.
Also excluded from this measure are persons who have evaded justice, including those who have gone into hiding, escaped, or avoided the execution of a criminal sentence.
Any offense under the jurisdiction of SPAK, as well as any person who has a ruling from GJKKO, is excluded from benefiting, regardless of the nature of the sentence.
The amnesty does not apply only to convicted persons. The draft law also provides for the waiving of criminal prosecution for certain misdemeanors and low-risk offenses, while the implementation of the specific procedures will be carried out by the courts and prosecution offices after the law enters into force.
Under this measure, 2,163 people will benefit from the termination of probation service, while another 2,914 will receive reductions. According to Justice Minister Toni Gogu, the total number of beneficiaries from this amnesty reaches 6,412 people.
The Socialist Party rejected two amendments: one by PD’s Arjan Ndoj, who sought to extend the benefit to those convicted by GJKKO and investigated by SPAK, and the amendment by Jorida Tabaku, which aimed to include the offenses of insult and defamation in the amnesty.
The offenses not covered by the amnesty are: intentional killings and crimes against life, crimes against humanity, rape and sexual crimes, human trafficking, severe violence against children, kidnapping and hostage-taking, corruption of public officials, money laundering, drug trafficking, organized crime and criminal organizations, terrorist offenses, election crimes, as well as most serious environmental and economic offenses.
