The exchange of experiences, practices and lessons learned between prison staff is an important aspect in strengthening the rehabilitation and reintegration of violent extremist offenders (VEOs), managing and mitigating security threats and developing local knowledge resources and expertise.

With this in mind the Workshop on rehabilitation and reintegration of VEOs and on prison operational work was organised on 22-23 July 2025 in Bihać, Bosnia and Herzegovina, led by experienced treatment and security staff from the State Prison.

The aim of the workshop was to further enhance the knowledge and skills of the treatment and security staff from Bihač prison on the rehabilitation and preparation for release of VEOs and other prone to radicalisation as well as to further strengthen the prison operational work.

Through real-life cases and case studies the participants deepened their understanding on the signs of radicalisation, enhanced their skills in assessing risk and needs of VEOs, and in providing support in the treatment and preparation for release of VEOs and others prone to radicalisation.  

In addition, the Security staff further raised capacities in performing their duties related to collection, analysis and sharing of information, with the aim to build sustainable mechanism for preventing radicalisation in prisons and managing and mitigating security threats. In this respect, together with the Security staff from State prison, they worked on concrete documentation which will further operationalise the prison operational work.

Such peer-to-peer workshops further build on and complement the knowledge resources and expertise among institutions, ensure good situational awareness and raise awareness on evolving trends in relation to the management and treatment of VEOs.

This activity was held as part of the Council of Europe’s project “Providing for effective reintegration of violent extremist offenders in Bosnia and Herzegovina (PER-VEO) - Phase I”, funded under the Council of Europe’s Action Plan for Bosnia and Herzegovina 2022-2025.