TIRANA (Albania), May 24 (SeeNews) – The treatment of persons detained by the police in Albania has improved, but the conditions of forensic psychiatric patients remain unacceptable, the Council of Europe’s anti-torture committee said on Thursday.
The vast majority of detained persons interviewed indicated that they had been treated correctly by the police, the Committee for the Prevention of Torture and Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (CPT) said in a report on its visit to Albania in February last year.
The delegation had received only a small number of allegations of recent physical ill-treatment by police officers, CPT said, adding that the information gathered during the visit suggests that a positive trend has emerged as compared to the situation found during the previous visit in 2014.
CPT also said it welcomed the continued efforts made by the Albanian authorities to improve material conditions of detention in police establishments.
However, forensic psychiatric patients continued to be held under inhuman and degrading conditions, CPT said, adding that the living conditions of the patients had further deteriorated since the 2014 visit, in particular in terms of state of repair and overcrowding. In addition, the level of psychiatric care remained clearly insufficient, the report reads.
“The CPT calls upon the Albanian authorities to provide without further delay a detailed plan for the creation of a forensic psychiatric facility and to take the necessary steps to ensure the speedy setting-up of such a facility.”