The third session of the Working Group in Serbia was focused on the design of the methodology of an individual rehabilitation and treatment programme for violent extremist prisoners (VEP) in Serbia.
The Working Group presented the current situation of rehabilitation and treatment programmes for this category of prisoners and identified the main shortcomings and gaps. It was concluded that establishing trust between a prisoner and treatment staff is the cornerstone for their successful rehabilitation. It was also agreed that the principles of dynamic security supplemented with communication techniques, such as Motivational Interviewing, can significantly improve the effectiveness of the disengagement process of VEPs.
The Working Group was composed of prison management and rehabilitation staff, representatives of the Ministry of Justice and Ministry of Interior, and it took place on 01 October 2020 as a hybrid event, namely a combination between in-person and online activity.
The activity was implemented within the scope of the regional action “Enhancing penitentiary capacities in addressing radicalisation in prisons in the Western Balkans” that is a part of the joint European Union/Council of Europe programme “Horizontal Facility for the Western Balkans and Turkey 2019-2022”, implemented by the Council of Europe.

