Human Rights

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Country Reports on Human Rights Practices

Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor

2004

February 28, 2005


Albania is a republic with a multiparty Parliament, and a Prime Minister and a President both elected by Parliament. The Prime Minister heads the Government; the Presidency is a largely ceremonial position with limited executive power. In 2003, local elections were held throughout the country, which were judged to be an improvement over previous elections, with only a few isolated incidents of irregularities and violence. The Constitution provides for an independent judiciary; however, corruption and political pressure limited its ability to function independently and efficiently.

Local police units report to the Ministry of Public Order and are responsible principally for internal security. The military forces have a special 151-person "commando" unit, which operates in an antiterrorist role under the Minister of Defense. During times of domestic crisis, the law allows the Minister of Public Order to request authority over this unit. The State Intelligence Service (SHISH) is responsible for both internal and external intelligence gathering and counterintelligence. Civilian authorities generally maintained effective control over the security forces. Some members of the security forces committed human rights abuses.

The country had a mixed economy that was in transition from central economic planning to a free market system. The country continued to experience slow but steady economic progress; the economy grew by 6 percent. However, approximately 25 percent of the population of approximately 3.1 million lived below the poverty line. According to the Government, the unemployment rate was 15.2 percent; however, some unofficial reports put it as high as 22 percent. The average inflation was 3.2 percent and public sector wages increased by 10 percent.

The Government generally respected the human rights of its citizens; however, there were serious problems in several areas. Police beat and abused suspects, detainees, and prisoners. Prison conditions remained poor. The police occasionally arbitrarily arrested and detained persons, and prolonged pretrial detention was a problem. Official impunity was a problem. The Government occasionally infringed on citizens' privacy rights. Political interference in the media occurred less frequently than in previous years. Police reportedly used excessive force against protestors. Individual vigilante action, mostly related to traditional blood feuds, resulted in some killings and an atmosphere of fear in some areas of the country. Societal violence and discrimination against women and children were serious problems. Societal discrimination against Roma, the Egyptian community, and homosexuals persisted. Child labor was a problem. Trafficking in persons remained a problem, which the Government took some steps to address.

RESPECT FOR HUMAN RIGHTS

Section 1
Respect for the Integrity of the Person, Including

Freedom From:

a. Arbitrary or Unlawful Deprivation of Life

There were no political killings; however, security forces killed one person during the year.

In July, Erigert Ceka, a 17-year-old minor, died as a result of being beaten by police while in detention. As a result of the death, the prosecutor initiated criminal proceedings against two police guards who were charged with committing "arbitrary actions." In November, one guard was sentenced to a 6-month prison term for committing arbitrary actions in violation of the law while escorting detainees, and in December, the other police guard was sentenced to an 8-month prison term for violating the rules of guard service under the military code and misuse of duty. The cases were being appealed at year's end; however, the court did not hold anyone accountable for Ceka's death.

Unlike in previous years, there were no reported deaths due to land mines. However, there were six deaths from mine-related accidents including a cluster bomb in a training facility that killed two and injured several, and a antitank mine that killed four others, three of whom were children.

The country continued to experience high levels of violent crime. Many killings continued to occur as the result of individual or clan vigilante actions connected to traditional "blood feuds" or criminal gang conflicts. According to the Ministry of Public Order, at least 10 individuals were killed during the year in blood feuds, which are based on the medieval Code of Lek Dukagjini (the kanun), which was practiced by individuals particularly in the northern part of the country. Under the kanun, only adult males are acceptable targets for blood feuds; however, women and children often were killed or injured in the attacks. As a result of blood feuds, during the year, 670 families were self-imprisoned, 650 families accepted legal procedures rather than personal vendettas for resolving the conflict, and 54 families were living under protection outside of the country; 160 children were prevented from attending school due to fear of revenge, of which 73 were considered to be in serious danger. This was a decrease from 2003 when it was estimated that there were 1,370 families self-imprisoned at home and 711 children prevented from attending school due to fear of revenge. Land property conflicts and issues related to human trafficking remained the main reasons forcing families to enter into blood feuds. In August, Emin Spahija, the head of the Non-Government organization (NGO) Peace Missionaries League that worked exclusively on blood feud issues, was murdered near his house in the city of Shkodra. Police have not apprehended any suspects in the murder.

Blood feud cases were adjudicated in the Court of Serious Crimes. Cases of blood killings carry a sentence of 20 years or life imprisonment. Although blood feud prosecution rates were not available, estimates indicated that 60 to 65 percent of all cases were brought to court and nearly all of them ended up at the appellate level.

b. Disappearance

There were no reports of politically motivated disappearances.

Three former officials of the SHISH, who were arrested in 2003 in connection with the kidnapping of Ziso Kristopulli and Remzi Hoxha in 1995, were released (one in 2003 and two in May) for lack of evidence and the case was suspended. Although Kristopulli was eventually released, the whereabouts of Hoxha remained unknown.

Human rights groups, including the Albanian Helsinki Committee (AHC) and the Albanian Human Rights Group (AHRG), have questioned the release of the SHISH officials and the suspension of the disappearance case. In November, the NGOs organized a press event and Amnesty International wrote a letter to the Prime Minister requesting that the case be reopened. No actions have taken place so far.

c. Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman, or Degrading Treatment or Punishment

The Constitution prohibits such actions; however, the police at times beat and tortured suspects. The AHC and the AHRG continued to report that police forces nationwide used torture and inhumane or excessive treatment; however, both noted that the number of cases decreased during the year. According to the AHRG, most mistreatment took place at the time of arrest or initial detention. Roma and members of the Egyptian community were particularly vulnerable to police abuse (see Section 5).

In February, according to the AHRG, Niko Puriqi accused the Permeti Chief of Criminal Police of beating him during pretrial detention. The police medical examiner verified Puriqi's allegations. Puriqi initially was accused of theft, although the police later dismissed the charges. In March, the Chief of Criminal Police received a warning.


In October, Stathi Lako, a 31-year-old man from Korca, was detained and allegedly mistreated in pretrial detention by three police officers and the Chief of Office of Serious Crimes, Bajram Hyka. According to AHC, Lako's involvement with Hyka's daughter was the reason for the detention. The prosecutor's office has not initiated an investigation of the case.

In June, Beqir Kaba filed a complaint based on allegations of illegal arrest and maltreatment by two police officers of Dibra police commissariat. Following the Ombudsman Office's intervention, the two police officers were temporarily suspended from work.

In December 2003, the investigation into the 2003 beating of Behar Dedolli by the police was transferred to the military police and later suspended due to lack of evidence.

In 2003, Romeno Nexhipi alleged that Fier police beat him after they asked him to accompany them to the police station. He was sent to the hospital for treatment, then taken to the police station where he was held overnight. Nexhipi was subsequently charged with disturbing the peace and assaulting a police officer; however, the case was suspended at the year's end.

Alnor Hasa, former Chief of Criminal Police accused of beating a detainee in 2002, was sentenced to 2 years' imprisonment.

There were no developments in the April 2002 Pergjini assault case, which alleged that three brothers were arrested and beaten by police in reprisal for a dispute with the officers. The 2002 Azgan Haklaj assault case, in which charges were filed against four police officers accused of assaulting Haklaj during his 2001 arrest, was suspended by the prosecutor's office during the year.

At times police abused and tortured juvenile detainees (see Section 1. a.). According to the Children's Rights Center of Albania (CRCA), police sometimes used threats, violence, and torture to extract confessions from minors. In 2003, according to the AHRG, police used violent means against three minors from Korca, who were witnesses in a trial, in order to manipulate their testimony to favor the prosecutor. No actions were taken against the police officers. The prosecutor charged Gjergji Dabulla with the trafficking of the three minors and continued to use evidence in the case allegedly extracted from the minors by violent means.

The AHRG claimed that police targeted the country's homosexual community. According to the General Secretary of Gay Albania, the police often arbitrarily arrested homosexuals and then physically and verbally abused them while they were in detention. In October, the General Secretary of Gay Albania claimed that he was refused citizenship because he was homosexual.

There were reports that police beat protesters during the year (see Section 2.b.).

Conditions inside the prisons and detention centers remained poor, despite government efforts to address problems such as poor facilities and overcrowding as well as efforts to transfer convicted inmates from detention centers to prisons. According to the European Union's Judicial Reform, Asylum and Migration Operations Section, detainees had limited access to bathroom and showering facilities, and insufficient food; in some cases, space and privacy limitations kept them from engaging in religious practices. Access to employment opportunities for prisoners did not exist. The prison staff was poorly trained. During the year, prisoners and detainees rioted in Vlora, Lezha and Lac and held hunger strikes in pretrial detention centers in Elbasan, Corovoda, Korca, Malesia e Madhe and in prisons in Tirana and Burrel to protest poor living conditions, slowness of prisoner transfers from pretrial detention cells to prison facilities and the absence of prison employment. There were no reports of injuries or death from riots.

Overcrowding remained a serious problem. This caused substandard living conditions for prisoners and significant security problems for the police forces. According to the Ministry of Public Order the country's overall space capacity for all pretrial detention facilities amounted to 803, but the actual number of detainees was 1,239. In July, the Ministry of Justice decided to transfer all convicted felons to prisons; however, 188 convicted felons still remained in pretrial detention centers at year's end.


Unlike in previous years, no felons committed suicide.

The transfer of jurisdiction from the Ministry of Public Order to the Ministry of Justice of all pretrial detention centers mandated by a 2001 law was only partially fulfilled with the pretrial detention centers of Tirana and Vlora transferred to the Ministry of Justice by year's end.

Police separated men from women in pretrial detention centers and prisons. According to NGOs monitoring prison conditions, Prison 325 for women in Tirana lacked facilities for newborns of those women prisoners who were pregnant at the time of incarceration. Pretrial detainees were not separated from convicted prisoners, and juvenile detainees were not separated from adults due to overcrowding.

The Ministry of Justice reported that 49 minors were serving prison sentences: 31 in pretrial detention centers in the Ministry of Justice-run centers in Tirana and Vlora and 18 in Vaqarr--the only prison in the country that has a special wing for juveniles. Overall, there were 39 minors held in pretrial detention centers excluding those in Tirana and Vlora. The CRCA noted that juveniles at Vaqarr were mixed with adult prisoners for showers and leisure activities. As a result, there were several reports of sexual abuse of juveniles during the year. According to the CRCA, all minors were denied education in the pretrial detention system; the Government had not responded to the concern by year's end.


Unlike in previous years, there were no minor girls serving sentence in Prison 325 for women.

The Government permitted international human rights observers to visit both pretrial detention centers and prisons; there were no reports of refusals to permit access for inspections by domestic independent human rights monitors. The Government cooperated with the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) and with other NGOs.

d. Arbitrary Arrest or Detention

The Constitution prohibits arbitrary arrest and detention; however, the police occasionally arbitrarily arrested and detained persons.

According to the Ministry of Public Order, there were 12,132 police officers in the Albanian State Police (ASP); the majority of police officers remained largely untrained, despite assistance received from foreign governments. A new restructuring of the ASP created two deputy directorates: One for operations and the other for administration. Operational Directorates included: Organized Crime and Witness Protection; Fight Against Terrorist Acts and Cold Cases; Public Order and Security; Territorial Control and Coordination; and Border Police and Migration. The overall performance of law enforcement remained weak. Unprofessional behavior and corruption remained major impediments to the development of an effective civilian police force. According to the Ministry of Public Order, only 40 percent of police officers received training beyond basic training. The State Police's Office of Internal Control could engage in the prevention, discovery and documentation of criminal activity committed by police and, during the year, pursued investigations leading to the arrest of 52 police officials and the dismissal of 323 for various degrees of misconduct.

In its yearly tabulations, the People's Advocate--a government ombudsman charged with investigating citizen complaints of public officials' wrongdoing--reported that it handled 2,520 complaints, requests, and notifications related to all forms of public corruption and misconduct. Of those, 19 percent were determined to be legitimate and were forwarded to the appropriate authorities for further investigation. Among these 2,520 cases, the People's Advocate received 25 complaints against police officers for excessive force or maltreatment and determined that 7 were valid, 4 were outside their jurisdiction, 13 were groundless, and 1 was withdrawn; however, no further information on their status was available.

Corruption remained a problem among police forces and low salaries and widespread corruption throughout society made the problem difficult to combat. The State Police Office of Internal Control reported 223 cases of corruption to the Prosecutor's Office involving 230 police officers; 32 officers were arrested.

The 1995 Penal Procedures Code sets out the rights of detained and arrested persons. By law, a police officer or prosecutor may order a suspect into custody. Detained persons must be informed immediately of the charges against them and of their rights and a prosecutor must be notified immediately after the police detain a suspect. Within 48 hours of the arrest or detention, a suspect must appear before a judge. The judge has an additional 48 hours to determine whether the suspect may continue to be detained. In some cases, detained persons have been kept in pretrial detention longer than 48 hours without a court decision on whether the prosecutor has sufficient evidence.

The court may order pretrial detention in especially serious cases that could pose a danger to society. Alternatively, a suspect may be placed under house arrest. Bail may be required if the judge believes that the accused otherwise may not appear for trial.

Legal counsel must be provided free of charge if the defendant cannot afford a private attorney; however, this right was not widely known and police often failed to inform suspects of it. Access to legal information remained difficult for citizens. There were numerous cases in which persons were illegally detained and were unable to contact their private attorneys. In some cases, the detainees, minors included, were interrogated without their defense attorneys present. The services offered by the state bar association were considered inadequate and at times lacking in professionalism.

During the year, the People's Advocate cited nine complaints of arbitrary arrests and illegal detention by the police, and specified that some of the complaints had merit and were forwarded to the prosecutor's office.

The Penal Procedures Code requires completion of pretrial investigations within 3 months; however, the prosecutor may extend this period by 3-month intervals in particularly difficult cases. Lengthy pretrial detention as a result of delayed investigations remained a serious problem. The accused and the injured party have the right to appeal these extensions to the district court. Some prisoners were held in pretrial detention even after their trial.

There were no confirmed cases of detainees held strictly for political reasons. The charges against Ekrem Spahia, Chairman of the Legality Movement Party, in connection with the 1998 murder of a Democratic Party parliamentarian were subsequently dropped because he had parliamentary immunity, while the trial of 12 of his supporters remained pending at year's end.

e. Denial of Fair Public Trial

The Constitution provides for an independent judiciary; however, because of political pressure, intimidation, widespread corruption, bribery, and limited resources, much of the judiciary was unable to function independently and efficiently.

Tension continued between the police, prosecutors, and the judiciary particularly outside Tirana. Each side cited the failures of the other as the reason criminals avoided imprisonment; the courts accused the prosecutors and police of failing to provide the solid investigation and evidence necessary to prosecute successfully, and the police alleged that corruption and bribery tainted the courts. The Judicial Police were responsible, under the direction of prosecutors, for developing investigations initially conducted by the police.

The judicial system is composed of district courts of first instance, six courts of appeal, military courts of first instance and of appeal, and the High Court. There is also a separate and independent Constitutional Court. The High Court hears appeals from both the district courts and the courts of appeal, while the Constitutional Court primarily reviews those cases involving constitutional interpretation and conflicts between branches of government, and cases of individuals alleging denial of due process. The Serious Crimes Court and Serious Crime Court of Appeal became operational during the year and focused on increasing the effectiveness of the fight against organized crime and serious crimes and improving the quality of adjudication.

The President heads the High Council of Justice, which has authority to appoint, discipline, and dismiss judges of the courts of first instance and of the courts of appeal. Judges who are dismissed have the right to appeal to the High Court. In addition to the President, the Council consists of the Minister of Justice, the head of the High Court, nine judges of all levels selected by the National Judicial Conference, and three members selected by Parliament.

The President of the Republic appoints the 17 members of the High Court and the 9 members of the Constitutional Court with the consent of Parliament. Parliament has the authority to approve and dismiss the judges of the Constitutional Court and the judges of the High Court. According to the Constitution, dismissal may be ordered based on violation of the Constitution, conviction of a crime, mental or physical incapacity, or commission of an act that seriously discredits judicial integrity and reputation. The dismissed judges have the right to appeal to the Constitutional Court.

The performance of the Bailiffs Office, the body that ensures that civil judgments are enforced, despite some improvements was poor and, as a result, many civil judgments were not implemented.

The country has no juvenile justice system, and children's cases frequently were presented to judges who had not received any education in juvenile justice. According to the CRCA, recent increases in the length of sentences given to juveniles were due to lack of training of judges in juvenile law.

The Constitution provides for the right to a speedy trial; however, limited material resources, lack of space, and case overload in many instances prevented the court system from processing cases in a timely fashion. Long case backlogs were typical, and resulted in suspects being detained for longer than legal limits (see Section 1.d.). Defendants, witnesses, and others who do not speak Albanian are entitled to the services of a translator. Defendants are entitled to a lawyer, and, under the law, the Government provides lawyers for indigent defendants, although the quality of representation varied. If convicted, the accused has the right to appeal the decision within 10 days to the Court of Appeals. During the year, a number of trials, including some of the country's most important ones, were held in absentia, for example: The trial against Altin Arapi, the alleged murderer of the driver of the Prosecutor General; the trial against 13 members, 7 of them in absentia, that organized trafficking in persons in January that resulted in the death of 29 persons; and the "Gaxhai" trial against 5 gang members, 4 of whom were being tried in absentia.

The trial system does not provide for jury trials; the prosecutor and the defense lawyer have the right to be present in front of a panel of three judges, and defendants have the right to all the evidence that will be considered by the judges.

There were no reports of political prisoners.

In July, the Parliament approved a new law on the restitution and compensation of the properties confiscated during the Communist regime. Some former landowners, including religious communities, questioned the law's limitation on property restitution to 60 hectares in total. The Government has not established a monetary fund to be used for the purpose of compensation. The Ombudsman received 33 complaints related to property compensation disputes during the year.

f. Arbitrary Interference with Privacy, Family, Home, or Correspondence

The Constitution prohibits such actions; however, at times, the Government infringed on these rights.

In June, 51 Roma families were forced to abandon their homes, because they blocked the implementation of the local municipality's territory regulation plan.

Section 2
Respect for Civil Liberties, Including:

a. Freedom of Speech and Press

The Constitution provides for freedom of speech and of the press, and the media was active and largely unrestrained; however, there were serious, fundamental problems with the use of the media for political purposes. Political interference in the media occurred less frequently than in previous years. Publishers and newspaper owners continued to edit news stories to serve their own political and economic interests and sometimes to block ones that ran counter to those interests. Journalists continued to practice self-censorship. There was little transparency in the financing of media outlets.

Political parties, trade unions, and various societies and groups published their own newspapers or magazines. The independent media was active, but was constrained by limited professionalism and lack of finances. An estimated 200 publications were available, including daily and weekly newspapers, magazines, newsletters, and pamphlets. Three newspapers were published in Greek in the southern part of the country, and 15 Greek papers and magazines were distributed throughout the south; these dailies and weeklies had very small circulation figures.

The Albanian Radio and Television (RTSh) was the sole public broadcaster (30 percent of its budget came from the Government, 70 percent from private sources), and it continued to devote most of its coverage to the Government. RTSh includes a national television channel and a national radio channel. National radio operated a foreign language service that broadcasted in seven languages, including Greek.

Television was highly influential; approximately 80 percent of the public obtained its news and information from television. Television programming included some responsible journalism; however, political affiliation was pervasive in programming. Despite some improvements, the majority of stations were one-sided in their political coverage.

The National Council of Radio and Television (NCRT)--a seven-member bipartisan body elected by the Parliament, with one appointment by the President--governed broadcasting issues. The chairman of the Council resigned in the summer, citing pressure from powerful broadcasters.

Unlike in previous years, physical violence was not used against journalists.

In January, two reporters of Top Channel were detained briefly for secretly filming the Prime Minister in the public domain.

In February, security forces detained two ALSAT TV journalists for several hours and confiscated their videotape of the Prime Minister visiting a hospital.

Unlike in previous years, no television licenses were revoked for political reasons.

In May, a group of journalists and editors issued a press release in which they raised concerns about the Government's efforts to restrict press freedom. They argued that the Government's arbitrary use of financial audits and lawsuits against journalists restricted freedom of the press; however, the Government's position was that the complaints were generated by ire at more effective tax collection.

Journalists also raised complaints about direct or indirect censorship by their publishers or editors because of political or commercial pressure or interests. The absence of employment contracts for many journalists was cited as a frequent hindrance to unconstrained reporting. Some media outlets complained that increased frequency of tax auditing conducted at their offices was in retaliation for reporting critical of government policies. From March to May and again in September, the tax auditing office conducted tax inspections of the newspaper Koha Jone.

Libel carries criminal sentences, from a fine to 2 years imprisonment. There were a number of high-profile libel suits during the year involving politicians and well-known journalists. For example, in January, Prime Minister Nano sued the publisher and Member of Parliament Nikolle Lesi for libel for claims published in an edition of his newspaper, Koha Jone, alleging that the Prime Minister inappropriately awarded himself and his advisers an additional 5 months worth of salary. The first instance court ruled in favor of the Prime Minister; however the case was pending hearing in the appellate court at year's end.

In May, the Xhoana Nano, the wife of the Prime Minister, lodged a request with the High Court to lift the parliamentary immunity of Nikolle Lesi in order to pursue criminal charges against him for publishing unflattering stories about her in his newspaper, Koha Jone. In September, the High Court ruled in favor of the Prime Minister's spouse; however, in November, Parliament reversed the decision.

Former Minister of Youth, Culture, and Sport Arta Dade and Minister of Local Government Ben Blushi sued Democratic Party Chairman Sali Berisha for libel, and the publishing company that owns the magazine Spekter sued columnist Fatos Lubonja for libel; Lubonja previously wrote for the magazine. These cases were pending in the Tirana District Court or Court of Appeals at year's end. In December, the Chairman of the New Democrat Party, Genc Pollo, won a libel case against Farudin Arapi, Chairman of the Pyramid Schemes Assets Commission.

In July, the Democratic Party of Albania cancelled private NEWS 24 TV's accreditation with the party and denied it access to the party's headquarters for allegedly providing biased reporting. The AHC denounced the decision as a violation of the Constitution. The case was pending at year's end.


The Government did not restrict access to the Internet; however, Internet access remained limited especially outside the capital.

The Government at times restricted academic freedom. For example, Professor Doka was dismissed as chief of the University of Tirana's Geography Department for having an "antinationalistic approach in his work" for publishing an atlas which broadened the geographical minority zones. The Government also, after initial availability, banned publication of the atlas.

b. Freedom of Peaceful Assembly and Association

The Constitution provides for freedom of assembly, and the Government generally respected this right in practice.

The law requires organizers to notify state police about gatherings in public places 3 days before the protests. The police may refuse to permit them only for reasons of national security and public security, the prevention of terrorist acts, the prevention of crime, the protection of health or morals, or for traffic reasons; there were no reports that such denials were made arbitrarily.

There were a few instances where the police maltreated protesters during the year. In April, protesters clashed with police over the compensation of former political prisoners and victims of political persecution for their unpaid labor during their imprisonment or persecution; many protestors were taken into custody and detained at the police commissariat for several hours. Police did not press charges.

During the year, Mjaft, a civic youth movement, organized several protests and frequently encountered problems with police over permission to protest. The police pressed charges against some Mjaft organizers, but no trial had begun by the year's end.

The Constitution provides for the right of association, and the Government generally respected this right; however, the Constitution prohibits the formation of any political party or organization that is totalitarian; incites and supports racial, religious, or ethnic hatred; uses violence to take power or influence state policies; or is nontransparent or secretive in character (see Section 3). There were no reports that this provision was used against any group during the year.


c. Freedom of Religion

The Constitution provides for freedom of religion and the Government generally respected this right in practice. There is no official religion, and all religions are equal; however, the predominant religious communities (Sunni Muslim, Bektashi Muslim, Orthodox, and Roman Catholic) enjoy a greater degree of official recognition (e.g., national holidays) and social status based on their historical presence in the country. Religious movements may acquire the official status of a juridical person by registering with the Tirana District Court under the Law on Non-Profit Organizations, which recognizes the status of a nonprofit association regardless of whether the organization has a cultural, recreational, religious, or humanitarian character.


While the Government does not require registration or licensing of religious groups, the State Committee on Cults keeps records and statistics on foreign religious organizations that contact it for assistance.

The Albanian Evangelical Alliance, an association of approximately 97 Protestant churches, complained that it had encountered administrative obstacles to accessing the media. However, Evangelical Alliance representatives stated that it was not clear whether the limited access was due to the organization's small size or its religious affiliations. Religion was not taught in public schools. There is no law restricting the demonstration of religious affiliations in public schools; however, some students were not allowed to do so in practice. According to the Ministry of Education, there were 14 religious schools in the country, with approximately 2,600 students.

In 2003, a male Muslim student was prohibited from having his diploma photograph taken because he had a beard. The student was eventually permitted to graduate through the intervention of the Office of the People's Advocate.

The Government failed to return to the various religious communities all of the properties and religious objects that were confiscated under the Communist regime in 1967. In cases where religious buildings were returned, the Government often did not return the land surrounding the buildings or provide comparable compensation. In addition, the Government did not have the resources to compensate churches adequately for the extensive damage that many religious properties suffered.

The Orthodox Autocephalous Church of Albania complained that, in addition to problems in recovering property, it also had difficulty in retrieving some religious icons from the Government for restoration and safekeeping and reported some isolated incidents of vandalism to the churches and crosses.

In June, Kastriot Myftari, author of the book "Albanian National Islamism," was acquitted of all charges of inciting religious hatred.

Relations among the various religious groups were generally amicable. However, representatives of the country's Orthodox Church noted that some churches, crosses and other buildings, were the targets of vandalism, although these incidents were isolated and believed to be the result of the country's weak public order rather than due to religious intolerance. At year's end, the investigation into the 2003 killing of former General Secretary of the Islamic Community Sali Tivari was ongoing.

Unlike in previous years, the Bektashi community did not experience intimidation, threats, vandalism, and violence.


For a more detailed discussion, see the 2004 International Religious Freedom Report.

d. Freedom of Movement Within the Country, Foreign Travel, Emigration, and Repatriation

The Constitution provides for these rights, and the Government generally respected them in practice.

As a result of significant internal migration, many citizens no longer had local registration and status, which led to a loss of access to basic services such as education and medical care. In many educational institutions, students must have, among other documents, an official document from district authorities that acknowledges they are inhabitants of the district. The lack of these documents prevented many students from attending school, with the Roma community especially affected.

There was little progress on the Ministry of Local Government's project to create a standardized national identification document.

The Constitution prohibits forced exile, and the Government did not employ it.

The law provides for the granting of asylum or refugee status in accordance with the 1951 U.N. Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees or its 1967 Protocol. In practice, the Government provided protection against refoulement, the return of person to a country where they feared persecution. The Government granted refugee status or asylum. The Government also provided temporary protection to individuals who may not qualify as refugees or asylees under the 1951 Convention/1967 Protocol; this was done for approximately 17 individuals. There is an appeals procedure, but it was not functioning during the year.

The Government cooperated with the office of the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and other humanitarian organizations in assisting refugees and asylum seekers. The UNHCR, through the state-run National Reception Center for Asylum Seekers, provided social and legal service, health care coverage, insurance, and limited training support for the country's small refugee community and coordinated further assistance through a network of NGOs.

In April, together with international organizations (UNHCR, the International Organization for Migration (IOM), the Organization of Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE)), the Government, through the European Union's CARDs Program, extended the prescreening program to illegal immigrants stopped at all border crossing points.