263 new recruits will be trained as future prisons staff at the Security Academy as of 21 May. Justice Minister Etilda Gjonaj together with the Head of the Council of Europe Office in Tirana Claus Neukirch, Deputy Minister of Interior Julian Hodaj , Director General of the Prison Administration Arben Cuko and Director General of the Security Academy Bilbil Memaj as well as ICITAP representative Steve Benett greeted the new recruits at an official ceremony on 18 May. Thanks to support provided by a European Union /Council of Europe Horizontal Facility project ”Enhancing the protection of human rights of prisoners in Albania”, the new staff was recruited based on a new rule book prepared with Council of Europe expertise setting strict professional and integrity criteria. The new recruits will benefit also from new initial and in-service training curricula based on Council of Europe standards and good European practice. To effectively deliver this modernized curricula, Council of Europe experts have trained the trainers now delivering at the Security Academy the specific training for prison staff in line with European Prison Rules recommendations.