Shënkoll Prison in degrading conditions, Ombudsman: This place should be a hospital, not a prison with two psychiatrists

A surprise visit was launched today by the Ombudsman to the Institution for the Execution of Criminal Decisions in Shënkoll, where he will also stay on Tuesday, exercising his role as the National Mechanism for the Prevention of Torture.

The initial findings of the inspection team highlight an alarming overcrowding of sleeping quarters and a critical lack of medical staff, entirely insufficient for the health issues presented by the persons stationed there.

The highest representative of citizens’ rights emphasized that these conditions constitute a serious violation of human dignity and are in complete contradiction to the minimal parameters set by the European Committee for the Prevention of Torture.

During this detailed inspection, the living quarters, medical services, complaint files are being carefully examined, and confidential meetings are being organized with individuals deprived of liberty, in the complete absence of prison personnel.

At the end, the Ombudsman will draft a detailed document with the relevant data and suggestions, which will be sent for review to the Ministry of Justice and the General Directorate of Prisons. In parallel, experts will compare the current situation with that encountered during the inspection a year ago, to measure the degree of implementation of the recommendations left at that time.

Endrit Shabani, head of the institution, was firm in his statement after the supervision: “The fundamental issue is that this is not a simple penalty execution facility. Such a center should have been conceived as a hospital with strong security measures, not reduced to a prison with only two doctors specialized in mental health.”

The official clarified that the persons held in this institution are not convicts, but individuals against whom the court has ordered compulsory treatment, because they were unable to understand the consequences of their behavior at the time of committing the act.

Despite this, he described the living conditions as deeply degrading. “Today and tomorrow we are seeing an unacceptable reality. My team and the Mechanism Commissioner have found the same picture as last year. Twelve people are crammed into a single cell, in an environment that severely offends basic human rights. This constitutes a flagrant violation,” he stated.

The Ombudsman insisted that immediate and coordinated action is needed from the Ministry of Health and the Ministry of Justice. He pointed out that one of the buildings risks collapse and has become uninhabitable, while in the rest, extreme overcrowding prevails.

He highlighted another anomaly: while prisoners who are aware of their guilt periodically benefit from penal amnesties, these patients with severe mental health problems are excluded from such relief, simply because of how the system works. “Consequently, instead of receiving more lenient treatment, they are punished even more harshly and kept in intolerable conditions,” he added.

Referring to precedents, the head of the Mechanism recalled the case of the similar institution in Zahari, which was closed thanks to the continuous pressure of the Ombudsman. “It is unforgivable that we find ourselves again at the same point. This situation does not honor the Albanian state at all and requires the most urgent intervention of both responsible ministries,” he concluded, giving the floor to deputy commissioner Gloria Çarkaxhiu to draw a parallel between the findings of the two years.