by Anna Karamanou (PSE) to the
Commission and Council
(19 March
2002)
Subject: Ill-treatment of minors in Albanian prisons
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According to Amnesty
International, the ill-treatment of children in detention in Albania is a
widespread and very common practice. The case of eleven-year-old Ergest Sele
who was tortured while in detention to make him confess to the theft of a
handbag, is one of many cases involving children who have been tortured and
abused during their detention by the Albanian police. The non-governmental
organisation 'The Children's Human Rights Centre of Albania' states in its
report that the police made extensive use of torture to force minors to
confess crimes. Furthermore, the children are afraid that if they bring
charges they will be subjected to further abuse. It should be remembered that
Albania has ratified all the international conventions banning torture,
including the Convention on the Rights of the Child. Will the Commission
say whether it intends to bring pressure to bear on the Albanian government
to take urgent measures to safeguard and protect the rights of children in
detention and to prosecute those responsible and also whether it intends to
call on the Albanian Minister of Justice to promote legislation establishing
a system for dispensing justice to minors? |