On AHC's monitoring at the Kapshticë border crossing

On July 19-21, the Albanian Helsinki Committee conducted a monitoring mission at the Kapshticë border crossing. The goal of the mission was to collect data on cases of maltreatment of Albanian emigrants returned from Greece, the treatment of cases by Albanian police and prosecutor's office, collaboration between Albanian and Greek authorities, etc.

In the course of the mission, meetings were held with with representatives of the Bilisht Police Station, the Kapshticë border crossing police post commander. The activity of the border crossing station was monitored during the mission. Meetings were also held with representatives of the Prosecutor's Office of the Korçë Judicial District Court.

In the context of monitoring cases of maltreatment of Albanian emigrants by Greek police, it resulted that the majority of emigrants pass through the Kapshticë border crossing; the Bilisht Police station is the institution where maltreatment cases are denounced. In meetings with representatives of the Prosecutor's Office of the Korçë Judicial District Court, the AHC was informed that the majority of already started cases had been suspended due to the lack of information from the victims of maltreatment, due to very delayed denunciations, which creates difficulties if not the impossibility of proving facts, as well as due to the fact that the criminal offences had been considered "beatings." Furthermore, prosecutor's office representatives said the lack of collaboration from Greek counterparts led to obstacles in investigations and even to suspensions of criminal cases.