Publication highlights Publication highlights Report on the ad hoc visit to Albania in June 2008 (treatment of persons detained by the police and the situation in pretrial detention facilities) 49. The findings during the 2008 visit indicate that, as regards the long-standing problem of ill-treatment by the police, there is the beginning of an improvement. In contrast to the findings made during the 2005 and 2006 visits, the majority of persons interviewed by the CPT’s delegation stated that they had been treated correctly whilst in police custody. However, a number of credible allegations of recent physical ill-treatment were received, some of which were of a very serious nature. Most of the allegations made related to ill-treatment during police questioning and, more particularly, during interrogation by officers of the criminal police. The CPT has noted that, following the Committee’s 2006 visit, the Prime Minister of Albania publicly condemned acts of torture and other forms of ill-treatment and stated that the Government would pursue a policy of “zero tolerance” in this respect. To this end, instructions were delivered by the Ministry of the Interior to all police officers; the CPT has also been informed that numerous police officers were dismissed for misconduct. Whilst acknowledging the progress made, the CPT urges the Albanian authorities to redouble their efforts to combat ill-treatment by the police. Conditions of detention in a number of police establishments also need to be improved. 50. As regards the situation in pre-trial detention facilities, the CPT’s report highlights a number of significant improvements since the 2006 visit. Firstly, the completion of the transfer of responsibility for pre-trial detention centres from the Ministry of the Interior to the Ministry of Justice means that all remand prisoners are now subject to the same rules (in particular, as regards activities and contacts with the outside world). Secondly, several pre-trial detention facilities which had been criticised by the Committee in the past have been taken out of service. Thirdly, major investments have been made to construct new detention facilities (for instance, in Durres, Fushe Kruja, Korca and Vlora), which will undoubtedly alleviate the problem of overcrowding in many prison establishments. Fourthly, food standards in the prison system have been improved. To sum up, the deplorable conditions in pre-trial detention facilities, as described in the reports on the 2005 and 2006 visits, now belong to the past. Report published January 2009, CPT/Inf (2009) 6 27