ECtHR judgments against Albania on police ill-treatment and investigations (2018-2022, selected)
Status: Judgments delivered (2018, 2019, 2022 per reports). Execution status not checked in full.
Summary
Selected European Court of Human Rights judgments against Albania involving police conduct or ill-treatment allegations, as reported in secondary sources reviewed. Full judgment texts were not read (HUDOC returned no usable text through the tools used; BAILII returned 403 on direct fetch).
Pihoni v. Albania (application no. 74389/13, judgment 13 Feb 2018, per a summary): no substantive Article 3 violation; procedural Article 3 violation for an inadequate investigation into the applicant's allegations of police mistreatment in a police vehicle. Prizreni v. Albania (application no. 29309/16, Second Section, 11 Jun 2019, per a summary and the Court's press profile): procedural Article 3 violation for lack of proper investigation into the claim that the applicant's brother was ill-treated; the substantive complaint was rejected. A June 2022 report (Exit.al, 15 Jun 2022) concerns a 2014 incident in a Roma family near Fier: the Court found an Article 3 violation for four family members and a cousin, and no Article 14 violation; the case name and number were not given in the article.
The pattern in these summaries is that the Court found procedural Article 3 breaches (ineffective investigation) rather than substantive ones.
Key facts
- Pihoni v. Albania, app. no. 74389/13, judgment 13 Feb 2018 (per BAILII search-result summary): no substantive Article 3 violation; procedural violation.
- Prizreni v. Albania, app. no. 29309/16, 11 Jun 2019 (per Global Health Rights summary and search summary of the Court press profile): procedural Article 3 violation.
- Fier-area Roma family case, reported 15 Jun 2022 by Exit.al (case name and number not given in the article): Article 3 violation for four family members and a cousin; Article 14 no violation.
- Council of Europe execution factsheet for police and security forces reportedly shows supervision closed after main reforms adopted (last update 15 Mar 2021, per search snippet).
The record
Four lists kept apart on purpose: what is established, what is only alleged, what is still open, and what those concerned said.
What is proven (1)
Established by documents or official records, as stated in the research. A recorded charge or indictment proves only that the accusation was made.
- The Court found procedural Article 3 violations in Pihoni (2018) and Prizreni (2019) (per summaries; full text not read).
What is alleged (1)
Accusations, not findings. Those accused are presumed innocent.
- AllegationSubstantive ill-treatment by police in the Pihoni and Fier-area cases (the Court's finding in Pihoni was not a substantive violation).
Allegations and who made them (1)
Each line is an allegation as recorded, with the person or body that made it where the record names them.
- AllegationApplicants alleged police ill-treatment and that domestic investigations were ineffective (as stated in the judgments as summarised).
Open questions (2)
- Exact text, case numbers and holdings of the 2022 Fier-area judgment (name and number not confirmed).
- A full list of ECtHR judgments against Albania on police ill-treatment for 2011-2026, which was not obtained because HUDOC returned no usable content.
Responses (1)
Responses of the people and organisations concerned, as recorded.
- Albanian authorities' responses not found in the sources reviewed.
Timeline
Full timeline →International
ECtHR: Pihoni v. Albania, procedural Article 3 violation
No substantive Article 3 violation; procedural violation for inadequate investigation (summary, app. no. 74389/13).
International
ECtHR: Prizreni v. Albania, procedural Article 3 violation
Lack of proper investigation into claim that the applicant's brother was ill-treated; app. no. 29309/16 (summary).
International
Exit.al reports ECtHR Article 3 violation in Fier-area Roma family case
Date is the reporting date; judgment date and case number not given in the article. Article 3 violation for four family members and a cousin; Article 14 no violation.
Sources for this record
Every source the research cites for this record, grouped by its source label. 4 sources.
Source label: UnverifiedUnverified · 4 sources
- Publisher
- BAILII
- Date
- 13 Feb 2018
- Publisher
- Global Health Rights
- Date
- 11 Jun 2019
- Publisher
- European Court of Human Rights
- Date
- 2026
- Publisher
- Exit.al
- Date
- 15 Jun 2022