Country Report on Human Rights Practices for 1986
ALBANIA*
Albania is a one-party state ruled by a Marxist-Leninist
dictatorship. The Government proclaims itself a People's
Socialist Republic. Ramiz Alia, who officially replaced
long-time dictator Enver Hoxha as Albania's leader in 1985,
exercises personal leadership through the 140 , 000-member
Communist party known as the Albanian Party of Labor (APL) . A
large, effective security service, the Sigurimi, assists the
party in maintaining repressive controls over the Albanian
people, who have only very limited civil and political rights.
Albania has a centrally controlled command economy under which
the State owns the means of production and the Government
directs all significant economic activity. Within a strategy
of economic self-reliance, the Government emphasizes a policy
of rapid industrialization and development. In recent years,
however, the rate of economic growth has declined.
There is no persuasive evidence that the human rights
situation significantly improved in Albania during 1986.
Private international organizations have corroborated evidence
of significant human rights violations, and the Government has
repeatedly refused to cooperate with any international
organizations which investigate human rights complaints.
Since assuming leadership, Ramiz Alia has pledged continuity
with Hoxha ' s policies, including the need for continued
political "vigilance." Visiting Western journalists and
tourists, however, have reported signs that some restrictions
on everyday life have been relaxed somewhat under Alia.
While the Alia regime has continued to isolate the Albanian
population as much as possible from foreign influences, it has
pursued a policy of cautiously expanding diplomatic, cultural,
and commercial links abroad, especially with neighboring
Balkan and Western European states. Albania is a member of
the United Nations, but it has not signed the Final Act of the
Conference on Security and Cooperation in Europe, nor has it
ratified any international human rights covenants.
RESPECT FOR HUMAN RIGHTS
Section 1 Respect for the Integrity of the Person, Including
Freedom from:
a. Political Killing
No evidence came to light of political killings.
b. Disappearance
Persons who have escaped from Albania report that
disappearances occur, but corroboration is not available.
c. Torture and Cruel, Inhuman, or Degrading Treatment
or Punishment
The Criminal Code prohibits and provides punishment for the
use of physical or psychological force during investigations.
*The United States has not had diplomatic relations with or
official representation in Albania since 1939. It is
difficult, therefore, to comment authoritatively on conditions
in Albania .
Nevertheless, former political prisoners have often alleged
that they were beaten or otherwise ill-treated during
investigation proceedings to force them to make confessions.
Although some of the worst abuses of the past may have ended,
it appears that Albanian investigators still resort to threats
and beatings to obtain confessions or collaboration. In the
absence of independent means of investigating these charges,
it is difficult to corroborate such reports, but the pattern
of allegations suggests there is at least some truth to them.
Private international humanitarian organizations have reported
extremely harsh prison conditions in Albania, including a
severe hard-labor regime with inadequate food and clothing,
long-term solitary confinement, cramped cells without room to
lie down, and unheated, unfurnished cells lacking any sanitary
facilities. The Burrel prison and Spac and Ballsh labor
camps, in particular, have been noted for their harsh
conditions .
d. Arbitrary Arrest, Detention, or Exile
The Constitution provides that no one may be arrested without
court or prosecutorial approval or be sentenced to jail
without a court verdict or for an act which is not a crime.
The Criminal Code, however, is explicitly ideological and
officially characterized as a "weapon in the class struggle."
Its provisions defining political offenses are loosely
formulated, allowing the courts to interpret them broadly to
punish whomever the regime desires.
The Criminal Code lists 34 crimes, 12 of which are political
offenses, for which the death sentence may be imposed. Among
these are such nonviolent political offenses as: unauthorized
leaving or "flight" from the State, agitation and propaganda
against the State, creation of a counterrevolutionary
organization or participation therein, concealment of a person
who commits a crime against the State, activity against the
revolutionary movement of the working class, and refusal to
carry out a duty or coercing others to refuse.
The Criminal Code also provides that banishment (generally to
a state farm or enterprise) or internment may be
administratively imposed, without trial, for up to 5 years on
persons whom the authorities consider a threat to the
Communist system and on the families of fugitives. Amnesty
International's 1986 Report notes that several members of a
family, regarded by the authorities as politically suspect,
were interned for about 3 months shortly before the death of
Enver Hoxha in 1985. Various members of this same family were
said also to have been interned on earlier occasions.
There are numerous reports that families of escapees from
Albania have been imprisoned or interned as a deterrent to
other potential illegal emigrants. Amnesty International has
reported a number of such cases in recent years, but another
source claimed that close relatives of recent escapees are no
longer interned.
Amnesty International reports that political detainees lack
adequate legal safeguards during pretrial investigations. By
law, investigations into crimes against the State must be
completed within 3 months, but extensions are easily obtained,
and no effective maximum period of investigation is enforced.
Most investigations into political offenses are completed
within 4 months, but Amnesty International charges that some
investigations have dragged on for more than a year.
Political detainees have been held in solitary confinement for
up to 6 months during pretrial investigations without access
to lawyers or relatives. The Criminal Code provides that
accused persons must be informed when investigation of their
cases is concluded and allowed to examine all the evidence to
be brought against them. Usually, however, they are not
allowed to examine all the materials and are shown only a copy
of the indictment. While investigators are theoretically
bound by rules of procedure, and the accused may appeal to
higher authority against investigators who violate proper
procedures, there do not appear to be any effective controls
on the powers of investigators in political cases.
Information on forced labor is not currently available.
e. Denial of Fair Public Trial
The judicial system includes a Supreme Court and regional and
district courts. Like all organs of the Government and state
authority, the judicial system appears to be under the total
control of the APL. There is virtually no chance a court
would render an independent verdict in conflict with the
wishes or policies of the regime.
Amnesty International reports that persons accused of
political crimes lack adegiaate legal safeguards during their
trials. Defendants at political trials have usually been
denied defense counsel and have had to conduct their own
defense. Major political trials of state officials are closed
when it suits the purposes of the regime, but most political
trials of ordinary citizens are held in open court. These
trials last no more than 1 day, and there have been no known
acquittals .
Reports of the number of persons in prison range from 4,000 to
40,000, including 300 members of the pre-World War II elite,
as well as pro-Soviet, pro-Chinese, and other political
prisoners. Many persons are serving sentences for expressing
dissatisfaction with conditions in Albania or for trying to
flee the country. Amnesty International reports it has the
names of almost 400 political prisoners held in Albania during
the 1970 's and 1980 's, but believes this is only a fraction of
the true figure. Former political prisoners report about
2,400 political prisoners were held in the Ballsh and Spac
labor camps during the early 1980 's. Some 300 more were
imprisoned at Burrel, and others were held in Tarovic, Kosove,
and Tirana prisons. Although the Government declared an
amnesty on November 15, 1982, there is no independent
confirmation of the number of persons amnestied, and there are
reports of further political arrests since 1982.
f. Arbitrary Interference with Privacy, Family, Home, or
Correspondence
The Constitution proclaims the inviolability of the home and
the privacy of correspondence but at the same time provides
that these and other civil rights are subordinate to the
general interest and cannot be exercised in opposition to the
Socialist order. Observers generally believe that the
authorities can and do violate the privacy of the home
whenever and to the extent necessary to achieve their ends.
The Government uses its pervasive informer network to report
on, among other things, the private lives of its citizens.
Children are taught to report their parents' activities in the
home, such as whether they practice religion or speak against
the Government. Contact with the outside world is carefully
monitored. Refugees have reported difficulties they had while
in Albania in receiving mail or telephone calls from relatives
living abroad. Sometimes packages of food, medicine, and
clothing sent to them were returned by the Albanian
authorities .
Section 2 Respect for Civil Liberties, Including:
a. Freedom of Speech and Press
Although the Constitution states that citizens enjoy these
freedoms, it provides that they may not be exercized in
opposition to the Socialist order. Consequently, the
Government has imposed rigid restrictions on freedom of speech
and press. Any citizen who publicly criticizes the Government
is subject to swift and severe reprisals under an article of
the Constitution which forbids anti-State agitation and
propaganda. Amnesty International claims in its 1986 Report
to have received information about a number of persons
convicted under this article and serving sentences of up to 20
years for peacefully expressing views critical of economic or
political conditions in Albania.
All news media are government controlled and never criticize
the state and party leaderships or their policies. Art and
literature are deemed to be weapons of revolutionary change
and are subject to rigid state control and censorship. The
authorities also manipulate scholarly inquiry and publications
for political purposes, particularly in such fields as
linguistics, literature, economics, history, geography,
folklore, and ethnology.
Information from abroad is carefully controlled, and persons
having unauthorized contacts with foreigners have been
reprimanded or jailed, although there is some indication that
such restrictions may have been relaxed somewhat lately.
b. Freedom of Peaceful Assembly and Association
The security police deal severely with group activities that
do not have government sanction or that might appear to be in
opposition to the leadership. There are no independent
associations or organizations; all are controlled by the APL.
Nearly all Albanians belong to trade unions that are part of
the United Trade Unions of Albania, an arm of the APL. These
unions have no significant independent voice in labor
relations, although they play a key role in indoctrinating and
propagandizing the workers, in maintaining labor discipline,
and in organizing the periods of so-called "voluntary" manual
labor in which all Albanians are expected to take part.
c. Freedom of Religion
All religious activity in Albania is expressly prohibited by
the Constitution and by government policy. Historically,
about 70 percent of all Albanians were Muslim, nearly 20
percent were Orthodox, and a little more than 10 percent were
Roman Catholic. A recent refugee report estimated that
between 2,000 and 2,500 Jews live in Albania.
In 1967 the Government proclaimed Albania the first atheist
state in the world, abrogated all laws dealing with
church-state relations, and began an active campaign to
eradicate all vestiges of religion. More than 2,100 mosques,
churches, monasteries, and other institutions were closed,
their fixed assets were seized without compensation by the
authorities, and many religious leaders were persecuted,
imprisoned, or even executed for continuing their religious
functions. All religious literature was banned, as were any
personal manifestations of religious belief or practice.
While a few outstanding historic churches and their religious
art are being restored as museums, most churches and mosques
have been converted to other uses.
The regime continues to suppress religious activity by
threatening harsh penalties for believers who practice their
faith and by obliging citizens to inform on believers.
Nevertheless, there have been some signs that the regime is
quietly toning down its antireligious campaign, as Tirana
tries to improve its relations with Italy, Greece, and
Turkey. There has been, however, no official statement that
religious practice is once again allowed. Despite years of
antireligious pressure, there are reports that some Albanians
have continued to practice their faith in their own homes,
particularly in villages and in more remote mountainous
areas. Tourists have also reported seeing Muslim Albanians
faithfully kneeling in prayer along roadsides with apparent
impunity.
In November 1983, the Vatican publicly condemned religious
persecution in Albania and claimed that a number of priests,
members of holy orders, and seminarians had died in prison.
It also reported that two priests had been executed for
baptizing children. The official press denies, however, that
believers have been persecuted and maintains that religious
belief is opposed only by argument.
d. Freedom of Movement Within the Country, Foreign
Travel, Emigration, and Repatriation
The Constitution does not guarantee freedom of movement.
Movement within the country and travel abroad are controlled
very strictly, and transgressors against the laws are severely
punished. The Criminal Code states that flight from the State
or refusal to return to the fatherland by a person sent abroad
on service or allowed to leave the State, is considered
treason and punishable by imprisonment for not less than 10
years or by death. Amnesty International stated in its 1986
Report that it learned of 2 men serving sentences of 20 years
in Burrel prison and Spac labor camp for having attempted to
leave Albania illegally. Despite this, Albanians continue to
risk their lives to cross heavily guarded borders into Greece
and Yugoslavia. Albanians reportedly are allowed to leave the
country legally only on official business or, very rarely, for
family reasons.
Section 3 Respect for Political Rights: The Right of Citizens
to Change Their Government
No such right exists in theory or in practice. The Government
is a totalitarian dictatorship, headed by Ramiz Alia in his
capacity as First Secretary of the APL and Chairman of the
Presidium of the People's Assembly. The Constitution
establishes the APL as the sole political entity and
Marxism-Leninism as the only political ideology. The APL is
governed internally by the principle of "democratic
centralism," under which decisionmaking power is concentrated
in the hands of a small elite. Any attempt by individual
citizens, or even party members, to criticize policy or change
the form of government or its leaders is dealt with severely.
The Constitution provides that the People's Assembly (an
unicameral parliament) is the supreme organ of national
government in Albania; similar bodies, called people's
councils, exist at the local level. Candidates for these
assemblies are first designated by a mass organization known
as the Democratic Front, which is controlled by the APL, and
then "elected" without opposition by universal suffrage.
After the last qxiadrennial elections, held on April 27, 1986,
the Government announced that 100 percent of eligible voters
had participated, and that the official slate of candidates
had been elected with more that 99.99 percent of the votes.
Section 4 Governmental Attitude Regarding International and
Nongovernmental Investigation of Alleged Violations
of Human Rights
The Government denies violating human rights and refuses to
cooperate with any investigation of allegations to the
contrary, including confidential investigations by the United
Nations Human Rights Commission.
Section 5 Discrimination Based on Race, Sex, Religion,
Language, or Social Status
The Constitution grants national minorities "guaranteed
protection and development of their culture and popular
traditions, the use of their mother tongue, and its teaching
in the schools, and equal development in all fields of social
life." Greeks compose the largest ethnic minority, but
smaller numbers of Serbs, Bulgarians, Vlachs, Gypsies, and
Jews also live in Albania. While there are differences of
opinion over the extent to which minorities may exercise their
cultural, educational, and linguistic rights, they are clearly
restricted. Several reports indicate persecution, harassment,
and discrimination against minorities solely because of their
ethnic origin. There have even been reports of mass removals
of segments of the Greek population out of traditionally Greek
lands in the south to areas further from the Albanian-Greek
border. Furthermore, insofar as the ban on religious practice
has removed the Greek Orthodox Church from Greek communities
in Albania, an important part of that ethnic group's
commmunity life and links to Greece has been eliminated. The
leadership of both the APL and the Government are
overwhelmingly ethnic Albanian of Moslem background.
The Constitution states that women shall enjoy "equal rights
with men in work, pay, holidays, social security, education,
in all social-political activity, as well as in the family."
Information on the extent to which these rights are exercised
is not available, but there are indications that the regime
has advanced the status of women. Women are said to
participate equally in the obligatory labor and military
service programs. There are several women in party and
government leadership positions.
CONDITIONS OF LABOR
There is no current data available on the minimum age for the
employment of children, minimum wages, maximum hours of work,
or occupational safety and health.
