IPK report highlights a series of shortcomings at the Detention Center in Rahovec

The Kosovo Police Inspectorate has identified hard and potentially dangerous objects at the Detention Center in Rahovec, posing a risk both to detainees and to police officers. In the published report, the IPK also found that the level of hygiene at this center is unsatisfactory.

The detention center is located behind bars, in the basement of the police station in Rahovec, where people suspected of criminal offenses are taken and mainly held for 48 hours.

A few weeks ago, the IPK carried out an inspection at this center, and the findings show that the situation is not good.

According to the report, hygiene conditions in general were assessed as unsatisfactory.

“Hygiene conditions in the rooms were assessed as inadequate, as food waste was found in the rooms (yogurt bottles, water bottles, used paper, etc.), while the toilets and sinks are not cleaned sufficiently. The mattresses and pillows are stained and there is a lack of sheets to cover the mattresses. In general, the level of cleanliness inside the Center’s facilities is not adequate. The station has two civilian employees engaged as cleaners and uses a contract for cleaning blanket covers in holding centers in Kosovo Police facilities. Despite these capacities, the level of hygiene inside the Center’s facilities is assessed as unsatisfactory.”

The report also highlights another, even more serious concern.

“During the inspection, the IPK encountered such dangerous items inside the Detention Center’s facilities. In the laundry room within the Detention Center’s premises, the door of which was found open, hard objects were found (a concrete brick, shovel, table, chair, cables and other hard metal objects). The presence of equipment and hard objects that are potentially dangerous poses a serious risk to the safety of detainees and supervising officers at the Center. Although the removal of dangerous items from these areas had been recommended in the past, the inspection reflects a failure to act toward raising the security standard.”

As a result, seven recommendations were sent to the responsible institutions. In a written response, the Gjakova Regional Police said that four of them were implemented immediately, while three others are being implemented in cooperation with other police units, Dukagjini reports.

Lawyer Meshar Selimaj said that similar conditions are found not only in Rahovec, but also in other detention centers at police stations.

“So it is not only the one in Rahovec, but also the one in Gjakova and many other centers that need attention, and from what we have seen during this time, the way these detention centers have been managed has left much to be desired, which fortunately have not lasted more than 48 hours, so the people who stayed there had the good fortune, amid this bad situation, not to remain there for more than 48 hours,” he said.

At the end of last year, at this police station in Rahovec, a detainee had managed to escape after forcing open the door of the detention room, but was later quickly caught by police officers and returned there again.