Forensic psychiatric patients accommodated at the Lezha provisional facility will benefit from enhanced services and support thanks to the assistance provided by European Union and Council of Europe to the Albanian Prison Service. The assistance aims to improve patients’ internal categorisation and individualized treatment.

From 9 to 11 September 2026, two Council of Europe experts visited the provisional facility to work with local doctors and psychologists and introduce methodologies and tools to assess the risk of reoffending among adult men, aligned with European standards. The support is intended to strengthen professional assessments and contribute to patients’ rehabilitation.

The experts reviewed individual patients’ files, to provide concrete suggestions on how to improve diagnosis, tailored treatment, and dynamic professional judgment. Together with local staff, they will propose criteria to support categorization of patients, for better internal management and preparation for discharge.

The knowledge and tools introduced through this support will enable Lezha’s doctors and psychologists to independently review the files of all 448 men patients currently accommodated at the facility.

The training was conducted in the framework of the joint European Union and Council of Europe programme ”Horizontal Facility for the Western Balkans and Türkiye”, and its action on “Enhancing the protection of Human Rights of prisoners in Albania”.