Wayzata World Factbook 1996/The World Factbook - 1996 Edition - Wayzata Technology (3079) (1996).iso/pc/text/humanrts/albania.txt

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TITLE:  ALBANIA HUMAN RIGHTS PRACTICES, 1994
AUTHOR:  U.S. DEPARTMENT OF STATE
DATE:  FEBRUARY 1995


                            ALBANIA


Albania continued to struggle in its efforts to establish a
democratic society.  A new draft constitution was defeated in a
referendum in November with little hope that another version
could be approved before year's end.  Pending a new
constitution, the Law on Major Constitutional Provisions
supplemented by the Law on Fundamental Freedoms and Human
Rights serves in its place.  President Sali Berisha, elected by
Parliament in 1992, continued his 5-year term presiding over a
coalition government dominated by the Democratic Party.
Parliament adopted a new civil procedures code and began
consideration of draft penal and penal procedures codes.  The
Court of Cassation in June overturned the Minister of Justice's
refusal to register the Democratic Party of the Right, thus
providing for registration of a newly formed party of sharply
differing views.

Local police detachments reporting to the Ministry of Interior
(the Ministry of Public Order prior to December 1994) are
responsible for internal security.  Police effectiveness in
combatting violent crime increased, but instances of police
abuse continued.  The National Intelligence Service (SHIK) has
both domestic and external intelligence gathering and
counterintelligence functions.  There are rumors, but no
evidence, that SHIK exceeded its mandate.

Albania is a poor country with a largely agricultural economy.
Remittances from Albanians working abroad are the principal
source of foreign exchange.  The economy, in transition from a
centrally planned to a market-oriented system, continued to
improve as gross domestic product grew by over 8 percent.
Privatization of small and medium enterprises continued at a
slower pace than in 1993, but privatization of large
enterprises continued to be hampered by a shortage of
interested investors.  Inflation dropped to an annual rate of
around 18 percent, and unemployment remained at around 25
percent.

Significant human rights abuses remain.  Police continue to
beat detainees, sometimes causing deaths.  Five police officers
arrested for a fatal beating in 1993 were found guilty and
sentenced to imprisonment (see Section 1.a.), but in several
instances alleged abuses occurred without the perpetrators
being punished.  Ethnic tensions were exacerbated by the arrest
of five members of the ethnic Greek political organization
Omonia on charges of treason and illegal weapons possession and
their sentencing to 6- to 8-year terms, which were subsequently reduced on appeal.  Substantial procedural shortcomings marred
their arrest, the search of their homes and offices, their
detention, and their trial.  The Government restricted freedom
of the press by trying Albanian journalists for defaming public
officials and for revealing alleged state secrets.  The
President later pardoned those journalists.  Some restrictions
remain on freedom of assembly and association.  The ethnic
Greek community continued to complain of discrimination,
particularly in education and religious matters.

RESPECT FOR HUMAN RIGHTS

Section 1  Respect for the Integrity of the Person, Including
           Freedom from:

     a.  Political or Other Extrajudicial Killing

There were no reports of political killings.  In January Irfan
Nano of Saranda died after police reportedly beat him while in
custody.  The Albanian Helsinki Committee (AHC) protested his
death.  Arrest warrants were issued for two police officers
believed responsible, and the investigation was continuing at
year's end.  On November 23, Enrik Islami of Vlora died in
police custody.  Islami had reportedly been in prison for 17
months pending trial for murder.  The Vlora prosecution opened
an investigation into Islami's death, but no arrests have been
made.  Five police officers, accused of fatally beating David
Leka while in custody in August 1993, were found guilty and
sentenced to from 1 to 11 years in prison.

     b.  Disappearance

There were no reported disappearances.

     c.  Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman, or Degrading
         Treatment or Punishment

The Penal Code prohibits the use of physical or psychological
force during criminal proceedings and provides penalties for
those found guilty of abuse.  During September, the AHC
investigated complaints of mistreatment while in custody of
Jani Stefan Magllara in Saranda and Osman Curciali in Tirana.
The Minister of Public Order claimed that, in both cases, the
police sought to detain them in connection with specific
crimes.  When they forcibly resisted detention, police used
force against them.  Curciali filed a complaint of police
brutality, and the prosecutor opened an investigation, which
was continuing at the end of the year.  Amnesty International,
Human Rights Watch/Helsinki, and others protested the October
14 and 15 beatings of three members of the Gay Albania
Society.  The three were detained for allegedly engaging in
homosexual acts, a practice which is punishable by up to 10
years in prison under the Penal Code.  One of the three
detainees was beaten severely enough to require
hospitalization.  The Interior Ministry stated that no
complaints of mistreatment were filed in this case and
therefore it initiated no investigation.  On October 20, the
AHC protested the mistreatment of six members of the Keci
family, three of them women, in police custody in the town of
Fushe-Kruja on October 17.  One of the men was reportedly
beaten severely enough to require hospitalization.  The
Interior Ministry reported that no complaints of mistreatment
were received and it undertook no investigation.

Four of the five ethnic Greek members of Omonia stated that,
during their detention before their trial for treason,
authorities subjected them to physical and psychological
pressure, including beatings, sleep deprivation, hate speech,
and threats of torture.  The Government rejected their claims
(see Section 1.e.).

Albanian prison conditions do not meet internationally accepted
standards.  Of particular concern is the incarceration of minor
suspects and convicts (under the age of 18) with older inmates
and resulting allegations of sexual abuse of minors by older
prisoners.  There are no statutes which define the rights or
obligations of prisoners or the rules governing prisoners'
behavior.  The AHC, which monitors prison conditions and
reports on them to its parent organization, also noted that
hygienic conditions in the prisons are extremely poor and
prisoners often experience difficulties receiving visitors,
mail, and newspapers.  The AHC deemed none of these problems
life-threatening.

     d.  Arbitrary Arrest, Detention, or Exile

According to the Penal Code, a prosecutor or police officer may
order a suspect into "custody."  Those in custody may leave
their residences only with the approval of the prosecutor.  All
accused persons must be informed of the charges against them at
the time of detention and have the right to legal counsel,
which will be provided free of charge if they are unable to
afford a private attorney.

Bail, in the form of money or property, may be required if it
is believed the accused may not appear for the court hearing.
If the prosecutor fears that the accused may leave Albania
prior to trial or is a danger to society, he may order an
arrest.  Many suspects remain in jail until their trial date,
which, due to the backlog of cases and shortage of attorneys,
is often longer than 3 months.

Within 24 hours of arrest, the police must send a report to the
prosecutor on the evidence linking the suspect to the crime.
The prosecuting attorney has 48 hours within which to decide
whether to go to trial or to order the person's release.
Either the defendant or counsel has the right to appeal the
arrest ordered by the prosecutor in the court of first
instance.  The hearing must be held within 7 days of the arrest
in the presence of the prosecutor, the defendant, and the
defense counsel.  There is no appeal of the court's decision in
this matter.

In practice, the above procedures are often not followed.
Detainees in criminal cases are often denied contact with their
families during the investigative phase, which, due to a heavy
caseload and the lack of trained investigators, may last
several months.  The five ethnic Greeks arrested and tried for
treason all complained of lack of access to their families for
the first 3 months of the 4-month investigation.  The serious
procedural effects noticed in the Omonia case may well reflect
a pattern of judicial weakness which also affects ethnic
Albanians.  The AHC also investigated complaints that some
prisoners continued to be held virtually incommunicado even
after they were convicted in court and that the courts often
failed to respect the right of those arrested to appeal their
arrest and receive a hearing within 7 days of the arrest.

The Albanian system of justice does not employ exile as a form
of punishment or political control.

     e.  Denial of Fair Public Trial

The lack of a new penal code and constitution resulted in
continued reliance on a patchwork of changes to Communist-era
laws, in uneven application of the laws, and, together with
procedural irregularities, sometimes in denial of fair trial.
The judicial system comprises the courts of first instance
(also known as district courts), the Court of Appeals, and the
Court of Cassation.  Each of these courts is divided into three
jurisdictions:  criminal, civil, and military.  The Court of
Cassation (also known as the High Court or Supreme Court) hears
appeals from the Court of Appeals, while the Constitutional
Court reviews those cases requiring interpretation of
constitutional legislation.

Parliament has the authority to appoint or dismiss judges of
the Constitutional Court (nine members) and the Court of
Cassation (seven members).  The Supreme Judicial Council, which
is headed by the President of the Republic, appoints and
dismisses all other judges.  Judges have lifetime appointments
and may be relieved of their duties only upon conviction for a
serious crime.

Prosecutors also serve at the pleasure of the Supreme Judicial
Council.  Many judges and prosecutors who held ranking
positions during the previous regime have been removed.

The Law on Major Constitutional Provisions provides that a
trial must be held in public, unless it might divulge national
security information, disrupt public order, or prejudice the
"best interests of minors, private parties, and justice."  If
convicted, the accused has the right to appeal the decision
within 5 days to the Court of Appeals and again to the Court of
Cassation, which renders the final verdict.  The law does not
specify any time period within which the Court of Appeals or
the Court of Cassation must hear appeals.

The arrest, investigation, and trial of the five ethnic Greek
members of Omonia did not conform to internationally accepted
standards.  It is not clear that Ministry of Public Order
officials had proper warrants authorizing the searches of the
homes and offices of the Omonia members incident to their
detention on April 18.  None of the arrestees had access to
legal counsel during their initial detention.  Once arrested,
only one of the arrestees had immediate access to a lawyer
during the subsequent investigative phase.  The Government
claims to have written waivers of the right to counsel from the
other arrestees.  In fact, the four other arrestees were not
represented by counsel during the major part of the
investigation, and one was not represented until immediately
before the trial.

During the trial, defendants and their lawyers were required to
testify before any other witnesses were called.  Although this
is permissible under Albanian law, it may have prejudiced the
defendants' right to a presumption of innocence and avoidance
of self-incrimination.  The court admitted the written
testimony of several witnesses who, despite the requests of
defense lawyers, did not appear in court, thus denying the
defendants the opportunity to confront them.  The Government
denied assertions made by several of the defendants at their
trial that their statements during the investigation had been
coerced by torture or the threat of torture.  To discredit
defense claims of coercion, the prosecution introduced
videotapes of the defendants secretly made during the
investigation.  The judges, defendants, defense attorneys,
prosecutors, and selected Albanian journalists were the only
ones permitted to view them.  Neither the Government nor the
prosecution made any further attempt to investigate allegations
of mistreatment.  At the end of 1994, the AHC published a
declaration critical of procedural irregularities in the
trial.  Despite charges of ethnic discrimination in the case of
the ethnic Greek Omonia members, the legal system does not
discriminate systematically against minorities or women.  The
serious procedural defects noticed in the Omonia case amy well
reflect a pattern of judicial weakness which affects ethnic
Albanians as well.  The AHC also noted procedural
irregularities in the trial of former Prime Minister Fatos Nano.

The AHC does not claim that the Government holds any political
prisoners.  Some members of the former Communist regime,
convicted on charges of enriching themselves at public expense,
corruption in the performance of their duties, or ordering
border forces to kill Albanians attempting to flee the country,
are serving prison sentences.  The opposition Socialist Party
claims that former Prime Minister Fatos Nano, convicted of
corruption in handling humanitarian assistance from Italy, is a
political prisoner.  They base this claim on procedural
irregularities which occurred during the investigation and
trial.

     f.  Arbitrary Interference with Privacy, Family, Home, or
         Correspondence

The Law on Major Constitutional Provisions states that Albania
guarantees "the human rights and fundamental freedoms as
accepted in international documents."  The Law on Fundamental
Freedoms and Human Rights addresses protections associated with
privacy, family, home, and correspondence.

Although Article 16 provides for protection of the home from
arbitrary entry or search, the Penal Code permits warrantless
searches for weapons.  Article 17 calls for privacy of
correspondence except "for a judgment in the interest of
criminal proceedings or by the approval of a competent
government body, assigned by law, in cases where it
(encroachment) is considered indispensable for reasons of
national security."

The Government is considering plans to open and examine the
files of the Sigurimi (the former secret police of the
Communist regime), but no legislation has been passed, and the
files remain under the control of the SHIK.  Senior government
officials have indicated that not all files are intact and some
may have been tampered with in the final days of the Communist
regime.  The AHC is concerned that information from the files
may have been used for political purposes and protested the
lack of legislation on their disposition.

Section 2  Respect for Civil Liberties, Including:

     a.  Freedom of Speech and Press

The 1993 Law on Fundamental Freedoms and Human Rights provides
for freedom of speech and press, but laws on slander, insult,
and protection of state secrets were used to prosecute persons
for criticism of the Government.  In practice, freedom of
speech, including freedom to criticize the Government and
government officials, was sometimes restricted.

A 1993 press law sets out large fines for publishing material
that the Government considers secret or sensitive, permits
confiscation of printed matter or property by judicial order,
and allows for criminal punishment under certain circumstances
yet to be defined by the Penal Code.  The media and the AHC
continue to denounce this law.  While several Albanian
journalists were arrested and tried under slander and libel
laws, none was prosecuted under the 1993 press law.  No law
governs electronic media.

The Government took legal action against four journalists in
1994.  Martin Leka and Aleksander Frangaj, reporter and editor
respectively of the opposition newspaper Koha Jone, were
arrested in January after Koha Jone published a classified
order prohibiting military officers from carrying their
sidearms while off-duty.  Leka and Frangaj were prosecuted
under the penal code article concerning protection of state
secrets.  The court sentenced Leka to 18 months in prison,
while Frangaj was found not guilty; the prosecution appealed,
and Frangaj was subsequently sentenced to 5 months in prison.
In addition, two other journalists from opposition papers,
Illyrian Zhupa from Populli Po and Shyqyri Meka from Aleanca,
were arrested for libel.  President Berisha pardoned all four
on May 3.  An appeals court later declared Frangaj and Leka not
guilty.

Opposition parties, independent trade unions, and various
societies and groups publish their own newspapers.  Some 250
newspapers and magazines appear on a regular basis.  Three
newspapers in the Greek language are published in southern
Albania.

Foreign journalists encountered difficulties in Albania in
1994.  Several Greek and Cypriot journalists covering the trial
of the five members of Omonia in August were expelled from
Albania for "improper documentation," having entered Albania as
tourists, not journalists.  Plainclothes police subjected other
Greek journalists to petty harassment, and Greek television
journalists were not permitted to film the Omonia trial
sessions, while Albanian television taped the entire trial.

Only state-run radio and television provide domestic
programming, but many municipalities offer locally fed
international programs via satellite.

Since November 1991, Parliament has exercised direct control
over television, delegating some oversight duties to an
Executive Committee of Radio and Television, which it
appoints.  The Executive Committee, comprised of 11 members
from outside Parliament, meets occasionally to review
programming and the content of news broadcasts.  Opposition
critics of the Government continued to allege that television
serves the interest of the ruling Democratic Party.  State
television's portrayal of the events outside the courthouse
during the Omonia trial, including police use of force against
Greek journalists and lawyers, was misleading since it created
the false impression that the police were violently provoked.
Opposition parties claimed that some controversial interviews
and programs, including rebroadcast segments of the Voice of
America, were not aired, reportedly at the request of political
and governmental leaders.  Local radio in southern Albania
broadcasts some Greek-language programming, with its content
translated directly from Albanian-language reporting.  The AHC
continued to express concern over the lack of legislation
covering electronic media ownership and broadcasting.

The Government did not infringe academic freedom.

     b.  Freedom of Peaceful Assembly and Association

While the Government generally respected the rights of freedom
of peaceful assembly and association, in some instances local
officials denied these rights, particularly to members of the
ethnic Greek minority.  Police sometimes used excessive force
in breaking up protests.

In order to hold a public rally, an organization must apply for
a permit from local authorities and provide copies of all
speeches to be delivered and slogans to be used in the course
of the meeting.  The authorities generally grant requests for
meetings, although police sometimes require a change of date or
venue.  There were no reports of arrests of persons attending
authorized meetings in 1994, but several ex-members of the
security services were detained and fined for an unauthorized
demonstration outside the Court of Cassation.

The Albanian Autocephalous Orthodox Church requested permission
to hold a religious procession near the center of Tirana on the
feast of Good Friday during Orthodox Easter.  The Ministry of
Public Order initially denied the request, claiming that it
could not ensure security for such a procession and that the
procession's proposed route would disrupt a major traffic
artery.  Following protests by the Orthodox Church and the
Government of Greece, the Ministry approved a later procession
for Easter Sunday.  A request by ethnic Greeks in the southern
Albanian town of Gjirokaster to assemble to celebrate the Greek
national day holiday on March 25 was refused by local public
order officials.  The Ministry later replaced the chief of
police for Gjirokaster, reportedly in part for his refusal to
permit the meeting.

In two incidents, police reportedly used force to control or
detain demonstrators.  In August police forcibly removed
several members of the Association of Former Political
Prisoners and Formerly Persecuted Persons from the premises of
commercial establishments in Durres where they were conducting
a hunger strike, causing several injuries.  The AHC protested
the use of excessive force to remove the hunger strikers but
did not contest the court order that declared the hunger strike
illegal.  On August 15, police broke up a demonstration by a
group of about 100 Greek lawyers, journalists, and ethnic Greek
citizens of Albania outside the courthouse in which five ethnic
Greeks were being tried on treason charges and detained 20
lawyers and journalists.  During this action, independent human
rights observers witnessed police severely beating at least one
person who was offering no resistance.

Any organization, including a political party, must apply to
the Ministry of Justice for official certification; it must
declare an aim or purpose that is not anticonstitutional or
contrary to law; and it must describe its organizational
structure and account for all public and private funds it
receives.  The Ministry of Justice denied certification to the
Democratic Party of the Right and the Social Justice Party in
1994, claiming that their positions on the complete return of
property to former landowners was anticonstitutional.  In both
cases, the Constitutional Court reversed the Justice Ministry's
decision and permitted certification of those parties.

     c.  Freedom of Religion

Freedom of religion has been established both in theory and
practice.

The majority of Albanians are secular in orientation, after 40
years of rigidly enforced atheism.  The largest religious group
are Muslims, who follow a moderate form of Sunni Islam.  The
Roman Catholic and Albanian Autocephalous Orthodox Churches are
the other large denominations.  The Albanian Orthodox split
from the Greek Orthodox earlier in the century.  Priests from
Greece augment the indigenous clergy of the Albanian Orthodox
Church to serve Greek-speaking congregations, primarily in
southern Albania.  A seminary training priests for the Albanian
Orthodox Church graduated 30 new priests in 1994.  Foreign
clergy, including Muslim clerics and Christian missionaries,
freely carry out religious activities.

A Secretariat of Religions within the Ministry of Culture
oversees the activities of the religious communities.  Some
questions concerning property confiscated by the Communist
regime from religious organizations have yet to be resolved.
Most religious buildings and many religious objects have been
restored to the religious communities which formerly owned
them.  In some instances, however, the full restitution of real
property would displace thousands of residents from their
present-day homes located on lands formerly belonging to
religious organizations.  Pending legislation on religious
property, the Government treats all religious communities the
same as other former owners of large properties, who, according
to the 1991 law on property, are not guaranteed full
restitution of lands.  In addition, a number of religious
objects and icons have not been returned to religious
communities, especially the Albanian Orthodox Church, and
remain in state hands.  The Government indicated its
willingness to return these objects once the religious
communities can assure their security as cultural objects of
value to the entire nation.  The Albanian Orthodox Church
claimed that it already had the means to protect these objects
better than the Government and continued to demand their return.

     d.  Freedom of Movement Within the Country, Foreign
         Travel, Emigration, and Repatriation

There are no longer any restrictions on freedom of movement
within the country.  Albanian-born citizens of all foreign
countries are eligible to apply for dual citizenship.

Since the downfall of the Communist regime, hundreds of
thousands of economic migrants have left Albania.  Albanians
who fled the country during the Communist dictatorship have
been welcomed back, and their citizenship has been restored.

There was no significant influx of refugees in 1994.  A small
number of ethnic Albanians from Kosovo, Serbia, fled to Albania
to avoid the draft.