Grave Situation in the Tirana Prison Hospital

Tirana, 25 November 2004

In the framework of a round of monitoring missions undertaken by the Albanian Helsinki Committee in detention facilities and in prisons, on November 17-18, 2004, a monitoring mission was conducted in the Tirana Prison Hospital. The purpose of the monitoring mission was to observe from up close respect for the rights of sick arrested and convicted persons.

During the monitoring, it resulted that care by medical personnel was relatively satisfactory. Nevertheless, the monitoring group found marked deficiencies, which seriously damage the rights of sick individuals in this institution.

Items (beds, mattresses, sheets, etc.,) were too old and unclean. Some rooms lacked tables and food cupboards. Food items were kept under the bed. The rooms were cold and no heat was provided. There were common bathrooms and WCs which the ill used according to a set schedule.

The institution hosts 5 women, one of which is pregnant, 3 children and 13 paralyzed individuals. Children had no appropriate facility to hang around in and spend free time. They would stay together with their mothers in the very same room where the mentally ill woman was kept. The children were not vaccinated and pediatricians did not conduct the regularly visits, although it is known that children up to one years of age should be visited once every week.

The keeping of children under such conditions is a serious harm to the rights of children sanctioned in the Convention "On Childrens' Rights", which stipulates in article 3 that in treating children, the highest interests of the child should be taken into consideration. At the same time, there was serious harm to the requirements of article 17 of the law "On the rights and treatment of individuals convicted to imprisonment", which says "Mothers are allowed to keep with them children up to 3 years of age, and special daycare centers are operated as a function of care for and assistance to them".

The fact that the Prison Hospital hosts 55 mentally ill individuals is also very disturbing. Keeping them in the Prison Hospital together with other ill individuals is a serious violation of article 82 item 1 of the document of the United Nations "Minimal regulations for the treatment of prisoners", which sanctions that mentally ill persons should not be locked up in prisons; measures should be taken to transfer them as soon as possible to institutions for the mentally ill.

It is worth mentioning that the treatment of mentally ill individuals who have been declared irresponsible also violates law no. 8331, dated 21.4.1998, “On the execution of penal decisions", "Medical measures of obligatory medication are executed in the specialized medical institution…(article 45) as well as law no. 8328, dated 16.4.1998 “On the rights and treatment of persons convicted to imprisonment", which notes that ill individuals or persons suffering from mental or psychic disturbances are placed in special medical institutions or special sections of prisons or hospitals outside the prison system, which serve for their medication (article 16).

The keeping of the mentally ill in the Prison Hospital is also a grave violation of article 46 paragraph three of the Penal Code, which sanctions that medical measures are ruled by the court on irresponsible individuals who have committed criminal offences and this decision in cases anticipated by the law may not only be revoked, but the court is also obliged to revisit its decision one year from its ruling. Senior officials at the institution claimed that the court has not reviewed its initial rulings.

The AHC has called on the Ministry of Justice and the Ministry of Health even before, calling on them to take the necessary measures for the improvement of conditions in the Prison Hospital as well as to transfer the mentally ill to specialized institutions. However, in spite of promises, the situation remains the same.

Another disturbing problem is the keeping of 13 stationary paralyzed mentally ill individuals. They are totally incapable of taking care of themselves and there were not sufficient medical personnel to treat them. The AHC is of the opinion that keeping them in the Prison Hospital is inappropriate. They need specialized treatment.

With regard to this category, the AHC suggests to the Ministry of Justice and the President of the Republic of Albania to consider the possibility of pardoning convicted individuals who are in grave health conditions without any hopes of improvement.

The Albanian Helsinki Committee suggests to the Ministry of Justice, the Ministry of Health, the prosecutor's office and the court to treat these problems with seriousness and to undertake measures to resolve them in keeping with the law, their duties and competencies.