INFORMATIVE BROCHURE ON THE RIGHTS OF DETAINEES AND PRE-TRIAL DETAINEES
In the Institutions for Execution
of Criminal Decisions THE RIGHTS OF THE DETAINEE are special nurseries with paediatric experts to take care of the babies. You have the right to be treated with dignity, humanity, Your room should have adequate ventilation, normal and free from any discrimination based on gender, nationality, natural light to read and work, and electrical power for race, economic and social situation, political and religious lighting and personal hygiene needs. beliefs or any other grounds. Bedding and clothes are individually provided in If the prisoner does not know how to read or write, the accordance with climatic conditions and your needs, and they prison personnel should make them aware of their rights by should be provided to you by the prison personnel. reading the law or the regulation to that prisoner. Time outdoors is provided every day, including official Within 24 hours of your admission to prison, you should holidays, for no less than two hours, in the designated area. be examined by a doctor and a dentist, who will compile your Besides the food that you are provided in the institution, medical records file. you can receive food from your family 4 times per month You should stay in the admission room for no more than (up to 5 kg of food, 3 kg of fruits, juices stored in open and 10 days. transparent containers) or you may buy the same amount from If you are a minor, you should be housed in separate the prison shop. Cigarettes are not included in the weight of institutions or sections and receive different treatment. There the food. are even separate outdoor areas for minors. You have the right to be educated, to obtain vocational Convicted female minors are held in separate areas from education, and to undertake cultural activities and sports. male minors. You have the right to paid work and to have your work Convicted women are placed in institutions or sections counted for the purposes of old-age pension. You may not separate from men and are kept under the supervision and be forced to work when you are retired, have a Group I or care of female personnel. II disability, are pregnant, or have a health condition that If you are pregnant or have recently given birth, you prevents you from working. have the right to be treated in specialized obstetrics and If you work, you have the right to be provided extra food in gynaecology centres outside of prison. the afternoon, per a doctor’s recommendation, in accordance If you are a convicted mother of children under 3 years with the work performed. old, you have the right to keep the children with you. There You have the right to exercise your religious beliefs in special areas. 2 3 You have the right to request alternative food due to your declare the phone number that you will call. If you lack the conscience or religious beliefs, in accordance with religious financial means, you are entitled to 5 minutes of phone calls rules and the practical capacities of the institution. per month free of charge. You are entitled to free-of-charge necessary medical care, You have the right to submit requests and complaints without being discriminated against, and to an equal standard regarding the enforcement of your legal rights. They can be of medical care as is available in the community. submitted verbally or in writing in a closed envelope to: the If you need a medical examination, you must submit a director of the institution, inspectors, the General Director request to the relevant medical personnel. of Prisons and the Minister of Justice, the court where the If you are sick, the institution will provide a special diet in decision is being executed, the district prosecutor, the accordance with the doctor’s recommendations. People’s Advocate and to any state body or non-governmental If you have mental health problems, you have the right to organization, domestic and international. receive specialized treatment. In case of disciplinary violations, you can be punished If you have been diagnosed with HIV/AIDS, you have the only after your claims have been heard and verified. right to keep such information confidential, to work and take You are entitled to good conduct leave of up to 20 days part in social activities without being discriminated against. and special leave of up to 30 days per year. Minors are entitled If you have been diagnosed as HIV positive, you should to good conduct leave of up to 45 days per year. not be isolated due to this fact. After your release from prison, you have the right to take You have the right to meet or contact your family and with you all of your personal belongings and money deposited other people in specially designated places. The personnel in your account, in accordance with the report signed by you can visually monitor your meeting but they do not have the and by the authorized prison personnel. right to listen to your conversations. You have the right to personally meet with your lawyers, THE DUTIES OF THE DETAINEE or contact them via phone calls, and you must be allowed sufficient time and full privacy for this purpose. To cooperate regarding the procedures of identification You have the right to privacy of correspondence and the and medical examination during admission to the institution, right to telephone communications with your relatives, 8 or during verification by the personnel. times per month. However, to exercise this right you have to To keep your room and other common areas clean and tidy.
4 5 To take care of your personal hygiene. The right to be presumed innocent, to not testify against To not have in your possession or distribute prohibited yourself or your family, and the right to plead ‘not guilty’. items, including items that disrupt public order, endanger the To be informed promptly, in a language which you life and health of other detainees or prison personnel, or items understand, of the reasons for your arrest, the charge against that might hamper investigations. you and the right to not make any statements, if you choose To establish normal relationships with other detainees and to do so. prison personnel. To be informed of your right to be represented by a lawyer. To fully comply with the orders of the prison personnel. To be allowed to communicate freely and in a private area To indemnify any material loss that you may cause to the with your lawyer, or to be provided free legal assistance if you institution’s property or other detainees. do not have sufficient means. To respect the dignity of others around you. To appear before a judge within 48 hours. The judge shall To immediately inform the director of the institution when decide within 48 hours from the moment she or he receives there is a threat to security or life, or a breach of the rules. If you are a detained minor, you have to fulfil the your file either to remand you on custody or release you. requirements regarding your education and professional and Additionally, you have the right to appeal the decision of the cultural training through school. judge. To respect the requirements of any special supervision To be heard before sentencing in a fair and public hearing, regime that applies to you. within a reasonable time, by a competent, independent and To respect the agreed-upon duration and location of the impartial court of law. leave granted to you. To respect all given rules and inform the institution if you THE PEOPLE’S ADVOCATE are forced to breach any of the rules. The People’s Advocate, acting as National Preventive Mechanism THE RIGHTS OF PRE-TRIAL DETAINEE against Torture, has the right to oversee the enforcement of the Law on the rights and treatment of detainees and pre-trial detainees. You are entitled to the rights of detainees and have to fulfil the In implementing the Optional Protocol to the Convention against same obligations. Additionally, you have also the following rights: Torture (OPCAT), the People’s Advocate can monitor, through 6 7 regular visits, your treatment in prisons or remand institutions, with the aim of preventing torture or inhumane and degrading treatment, and to strengthen the protection of your rights. The People’s Advocate submits its findings in reports and recommendations addressed to the relevant body, with the aim of respecting and improving the standards of your treatment. If you believe that your rights have been violated, you can file a complaint against the police, prisons, secret service or the justice system. Your complaints will be dealt with by a Special Section of the People’s Advocate within the deadlines determined by law.
Contacts
Telephone numbers: a) 0800 1111 - free of charge during working hours, 8:00 - 16:00, Monday - Friday b) 068 90 34 648 - this number is reachable 24 hours, any day of the week.
Adress: Avokati i Popullit, Blv. “Zhan D’Ark”, No. 2, Tirana
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The views expressed in this publication do not necessarily reflect the views of the OSCE Presence in Albania.
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