Work in this thematic area focuses on prisons and police (including human rights in policing, healthcare in prisons and safeguards against torture and ill-treatment), human rights standards in the judiciary (focusing on enhancing the application of case-law of the European Court of Human Rights), the efficiency of justice systems (with a focus on analysing judicial statistics to optimise court administrations) and/or legal co-operation (which concentrate on increasing the individual independence of judges and prosecutors and the accountability of the judicial system).

Back Improving forensic psychiatric patients’ treatment in Lezha provisional facility

Shen Koll/Lezha 11 September 2026
  • Diminuer la taille du texte
  • Augmenter la taille du texte
  • Imprimer la page
  • Imprimer en PDF
Improving forensic psychiatric patients’ treatment in Lezha provisional facility

Forensic psychiatric patients accommodated in Lezha provisional facility will benefit from enhanced services and support thanks to the assistance provided by EU and Council of Europe to the Albanian Prison Service which is aiming to improve internal categorisation and their treatment.

Two experts of the Council of Europe visited  w Lezha provisional facility for forensic patients from 9 to 11 September 2026. They are assisting local doctors and psychologists to get acquainted with methodologies and new tools aligned with European standards. These methodologies and tools are designed for the evaluation of future risks of re-offense among adult men, helping in their rehabilitation.

Concrete patients’ files are being consulted, to provide concrete suggestions on how they should be improved. These will help with better diagnostification, tailored individual treatment, and improved dynamic professional judgment. The experts together with local staff will propose criteria which will help categorise the patients, for a better internal management and preparation for discharge. The knowledge acquired by Lezha doctors and psychologists will lead to the independent file review for all 448 men patients currently accommodated in Lezha provisional facility for forensic patients.

The training was conducted in the framework of the joint European Union and Council of Europe programme ”Horizontal Facility for the Western Balkans and Türkiye”, and its action on “Enhancing the protection of Human Rights of prisoners in Albania”.

Actions under theme i: ensuring justice
  • Strengthening the quality and efficiency of justice in Albania - Phase III  
  • Supporting enforcement of judicial decisions and facilitating execution of ECtHR judgments in Albania           
  • Enhancing the protection of human rights of prisoners in Albania  
  • Strengthening human rights treatment of detained persons based on European standards and best practices in Bosnia and Herzegovina  
  • Strengthening the quality and efficiency of justice in Kosovo* -  Phase II  
  • Accountability of the judicial system in Montenegro - Phase II  
  • Improved procedural safeguards in judicial proceedings in Montenegro  
  • Further enhancing human rights protection for detained and sentenced persons in Montenegro  
  • Strengthening independence and accountability of the judiciary in Serbia  
  • Strengthening the effective legal remedies to human rights violations in Serbia  
  • Enhancing the human rights protection for detained and sentenced persons in Serbia  
  • Supporting enhanced access to higher quality Free Legal Aid services in North Macedonia  
  • Enhancing the capacities of the penitentiary system and the external oversight mechanism in North Macedonia                                                                                                                                                                                                 
  • Supporting the implementation and reporting on the Action Plan on Human Rights in Turkey  
  • Judicial training institutes for Quality and Sustainability in the Western Balkans 
  • Initiative for legal certainty in the Western Balkans  
  • Enhancing penitentiary capacities in addressing radicalisation in prisons in the Western Balkans  
  • Towards a better evaluation of the results of judicial reform efforts in the Western Balkans  
  • Human Rights Education for Legal Professionals (HELP) in the Western Balkans 
  • PACE cooperation with the parliamentary assemblies with a view to achieving legislative improvements in Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, North Macedonia and Serbia 

*This designation is without prejudice to positions on status, and is in line with UNSCR 1244 and the ICJ Opinion on the Kosovo Declaration of Independence.