Amnesty International Report 1999 - Albania

ALBANIA

Six officials of the former administration were detained on charges of "genocide" and faced procedures that fell short of international fair trial standards. There were allegations of ill-treatment by police. Prison conditions amounting to cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment were reported. There were allegations of extrajudicial executions. At least four men were sentenced to death.

The public order situation improved, although lawlessness prevailed in many parts of the country. There were a number of assassinations and attempted assassinations of political activists.

A political crisis began in August with the arrest of six officials of the former administration led by the Democratic Party (DP). The crisis deepened in September when a prominent DP member, Azem Hajdari, was assassinated. In response, DP leader and former President, Sali Berisha, led protests of DP supporters in the capital Tirana claiming that the government was responsible for the killing. Armed DP supporters briefly took control of government offices and the state television station. The same month Prime Minister Fatos Nano of the Socialist Party (SP) resigned as a result of the crisis and was replaced by another SP member, Pandeli Majko. In November a new constitution was approved in a referendum.

Six former officials were arrested in September, including former ministers and police commanders who held office under the DP-led government which ended in 1997. The arrest warrants reportedly cited charges of violating the country's "genocide" law by "ordering the use of chemical weapons", arming civilians and taking and giving orders which violated the Constitution. These related to the authorities' response to the countrywide unrest which started in early 1997 (see Amnesty International Report 1998). The men were reportedly denied access to their lawyers during the initial stages of the detention, which may have prejudiced the preparation of their defence. At the end of the year, five of the men remained in custody.

There were allegations of ill-treatment by police. For example, Gjergj Deda, a former police chief in Shkodra, was reportedly beaten severely after he was detained in February. In some cases the victims were active supporters of opposition parties, most frequently the DP. In February Fran Voci, reportedly a DP supporter, was detained by special police forces in Shkodra on suspicion of involvement in an armed attack on the town's main police station. About four days later, his family visited him in the Tirana Prison hospital and found that he had been beaten severely. Fran Voci subsequently stated that during police interrogation he had been hit continuously about the face and had his head knocked against a wall to make him sign a confession.

Prison conditions which amounted to cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment were reported. Adem Bendaj, who was sentenced to death in April for murder, was reportedly held for at least five months with his hands and feet in chains and an iron helmet over his head. Other prisoners under sentence of death were reported to have been treated in a similar manner.

Extrajudicial executions were reported, but were difficult to document. In January, for example, police in Fier allegedly took Agron Pasha from hospital and killed him in a village outside the town.

At least three men other than Adem Bendaj were sentenced to death during the year. No executions were reported to have been carried out since 1995. One report indicated that there were more than 20 men under sentence of death.

In December Amnesty International wrote to the authorities expressing its concern about the alleged extrajudicial execution of Agron Pasha and reported cases of ill-treatment or torture. It also expressed concern about reports of prison conditions which amounted to cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment.