Albania, UK Prisoner Deal Waits on Albanian Parliament

Albania's Ministry of Justice told BIRN on Tuesday that the new agreement with the UK would need to be ratified first by the Albanian parliament to enter into force and before initially dozens of criminals come to Albania to serve their sentences.

According to official UK data, with more than 1,500 behind bars in England and Wales, Albanian nationals account for the highest percentage of foreign national inmates in the UK at around 10 per cent.

An Albanian prisons official said the UK would provide donations to the Albanian prison system.

"It has been declared, but this is not part of the agreement," Femi Sulfaj, Deputy Director of Prisons, told BIRN. "There's nothing concrete so far, but they (will help) with assistance and maybe investment."

Albanian Justice Minister Etilda Gjonaj and UK Justice Minister Chris Philip signed a Prisoner Transfer Agreement in London in late July under which Albanian prisoners in the UK can be returned to Albania and banned from entering the UK again.

The move comes after problems in implementing a previous 2013 agreement that stalled 50 transfer requests lodged by the UK between 2017 and 2020.

"The deal means more offenders can be sent back to serve their full sentence in Albania, with victims assured they will still serve the full sentence imposed on them by a British judge," the UK government said in a statement.

The agreement works both ways, though there are very few British nationals in Albanian prisons.

The ministry said "misunderstandings and difficulties" had dogged implementation of the original 2013 agreement.

Also in July, the UK and Albania signed a separate agreement regulating the removal of Albanians illegally residing in the UK.

In October 2020,...