BIRN: Treatment of minors during protests raises concerns about police actions

Data on 204 minors arrested or criminally prosecuted during protests in recent days, together with reports of violence and procedural violations, have alarmed the Ombudsperson and human rights organizations.

A video released on Monday evening shows several police officers beating a group of young people with rubber batons. During the footage, one of them says he is 13 years old.

BIRN was unable to independently confirm the ages of the people shown in the video. Nevertheless, other footage of force used against protesters, including minors, has also been widely circulated over the past week.

The material has raised further questions about how the State Police is treating children and teenagers taking part in protests against the government of Prime Minister Edi Rama.

Official police figures show that 300 people have been arrested during protests in Tirana and other districts, 33 of them minors. In addition, 559 people have been criminally prosecuted, including 171 minors.

Thus, the number of minors in the two categories totals 204, approximately one-quarter of the 859 people arrested or criminally prosecuted.

This figure does not necessarily include every minor taken to a police station and later released without further action being taken. Criminal prosecution, in any case, does not mean that the person must be physically taken to a police station.

Among those arrested, nearly half are between 18 and 24 years old.

The protests were initiated by students, who were later joined by high school students. Discontent over corruption, a lack of prospects and the rising cost of living turned into mobilization, while clashes and property damage were accompanied by concerns over the treatment of underage participants.

The government links the use of force to the preservation of public order. But complaints from family members and findings by human rights organizations have raised doubts about the proportionality of the interventions and institutions’ duty to ensure the protection of children.

During Monday’s protest on October 19, the Ombudsperson identified 18 minors who had been taken to the police. Some of them said they had been assaulted by officers.

Ahmet Prençi, commissioner of the National Mechanism for the Prevention of Torture at the Ombudsperson’s Office, said on Tuesday that monitoring at police facilities had uncovered complaints of physical and verbal violence against detainees, including children.

“At Police Station No. 1, five of the eight detained minors alleged physical and verbal violence by State Police officers,” Prençi said. “Signs of physical injury were found on two of them.”

He also reported another complaint concerning alleged violence against a minor at the Security Block.

The inspection also identified violations of procedural rights: the minors were not given the form containing information about their rights, while six were recorded in the register for adults.

Prençi recalled that the Convention on the Rights of the Child requires people under 18 to be treated humanely and with consideration for their particular needs.

“Violence against a minor in police custody is an absolute violation, and those responsible must be held accountable in every case,” he said.

Interior Minister Ervin Demo, for his part, defended the police’s actions and claimed that “the standards and laws in force” had been applied during the interventions.

“Police officers do not take into account the age of those throwing Molotov cocktails and other devices at the moment of intervention,” Demo told BIRN in a telephone conversation.

The minister added that the authorities were ready to investigate every reported case of abuse by police officers.

Calls for an investigation into alleged violence against children

High school students joined the student protests on the second day. Some clashed with police and threw stones at officers; police used tear gas and water cannon to disperse the demonstrators.

Other videos from the protests show police officers hitting protesters with rubber batons, kicks and punches. In some cases, the violence is seen taking place after the individuals are already under the control of law enforcement officers.

Among the detained minors was the 15-year-old son of Anisa Lutaj. A video showing him being beaten by police spread online.

“My son did not commit any act of violence against the police, but they assaulted and beat him for no reason,” Lutaj told BIRN.

She said her son spent 72 hours in the security rooms, together with five other minors. The family is now facing court proceedings because police accuse the 15-year-old of carrying Molotov cocktails and a knife in his bag.

“These police officers are very clever about where they get these things from, because my son only had a bag with books and did nothing. This is also clear in the video, and there are statements from his friends,” his mother insisted.

Lutaj acknowledged that she had not yet filed a complaint with the institutions over the alleged violence and had not obtained a forensic medical report on her son’s injuries. She said she did not know what procedure to follow.

“I was shocked and, having no experience with these things, I did nothing because all I could think about was how to get him out of the police station,” she said.

Organizations and opposition call for investigations

The use of force during the protests, particularly against minors, has been criticized by human rights organizations, civil society representatives and the opposition, who have described it as disproportionate.

Legal experts from the Democratic Party have prepared a report on reported cases of excessive force against protesters, including children. The document was sent to international human rights organizations, the diplomatic corps and the European Parliament.

Jorida Tabaku, a member of parliament and chair of the Parliamentary Committee on Human Rights, said the report was intended to inform international institutions about the alleged violations. According to her, the aim is for them to pay attention to the protection of fundamental rights and to holding those responsible for any abuse accountable.

The Albanian Helsinki Committee (AHC) has also raised concerns about reported violence against detained minors, the failure to respect legal safeguards and their treatment at police stations.

Zylyftar Bregu, a journalist and monitor with the AHC, told BIRN that the organization had received numerous allegations of violence against minors who had been taken to the police or detained. He said two cases had been documented with the support of forensic medical reports.

“Many minors were taken to the police during the protest on the second day; two minors who had received medical assistance at the Trauma Hospital were also arrested. One had injuries to his leg and arm caused by police batons, while the other had wounds to his head,” Bregu said.

The AHC has also raised concerns about the confiscation of phones during detention, which makes it difficult for minors to notify their parents or legal guardians. The organization has also cited questioning without a psychologist or parent present, overcrowding in security rooms and a lack of medical care.

The Center for the Protection of Children’s Rights condemned the alleged police violence against minors and called for the conduct of law enforcement officers during the protests to be investigated by an independent international mechanism.

Altin Hazizaj, the center’s director, told BIRN that the use of blank rounds against children could not be accepted.

“There is no democratic state in the world that uses blank rounds against children. This is intolerable,” he said.

“We have called for an independent international investigation into the conduct of the police in Albania,” Hazizaj added.

Representatives of parents’ organizations have called for legal safeguards to be respected when minors are detained. They have particularly highlighted the use of violence after protesters have been subdued.

“The most disturbing scenes involve the abuse of detainees, especially minors, when they have been subdued,” Ermelinda Hoxhaj, a journalist and activist with the “Parents for Quality Education” group, told BIRN.

According to Hoxhaj, footage on social media and television broadcasts shows violence against protesters, including minors who had already been subdued. She also cited the use of tear gas in circumstances that, in her view, did not justify the intervention.

Hoxhaj called for every possible case of children being misused in protests to be investigated. She stressed that parents are responsible for their safety and should accompany them when they take part in demonstrations.