Penal amnesty for 1,300 prisoners comes into effect, 541 people are released immediately

The law on penal amnesty has begun to be implemented this Wednesday in all institutions executing criminal sentences in the country. The Ministry of Justice announced that 541 people will be released immediately from prison, while 803 convicts will benefit from a reduction of their sentence.

Official data also show that for 173 cases the sentence will be recalculated, while 67 convicts benefit from the merging of sentences. 609 people remain outside the amnesty, as they do not meet the conditions set out in the law.

The largest number of released inmates is registered at the correctional institution in Lushnjë, with 127 people. It is followed by Fier with 104 released and Reç with 101.

Minister of Justice, Toni Gogu, stated that the amnesty does not include persons convicted for crimes investigated by SPAK and the Special Court. Also excluded from the benefit are perpetrators of a series of serious criminal offenses, as defined in the law.

Among the names that stand out in this year’s amnesty are Rozeta Dobi, convicted for the theft of the home of former official Alda Klosi, and Erisa Fero, a former employee of AKSHI, convicted in a case related to drug trafficking.

The releases are being carried out in all prisons across the country, under the monitoring of responsible authorities, and the process is expected to be completed within the day. Besides the humanitarian effect for certain categories of convicts, the amnesty also aims to reduce overcrowding in correctional institutions.