TIRANA, June 8 /ATA/ Minister of Justice Toni Gogu on Tuesday presented the draft legislation on the granting of amnesty before the Parliamentary Committee on Legal Affairs and Public Administration.
In his address, the Minister emphasized that 380 individuals would be granted immediate release under the draft law, while an additional 900 would benefit from reduced sentences.
Gogu stated that individuals convicted of corruption, organised crime, or cases falling under the jurisdiction of SPAK and GJKKO would be excluded from the scope of the amnesty.
“Persons under the jurisdiction of SPAK and GJKKO are not eligible for this amnesty,” he said.
According to the Minister, the legislation does not affect or extinguish any civil rights of victims.
“Amnesty pertains solely to the legal relationship between the State and the perpetrator of the criminal offence. The victim’s entitlement to compensation remains fully preserved and uncompromised,” he stated.
According to the Minister, the draft law addresses three primary areas of action.
“First, amnesty from the execution of sentences: individuals currently serving custodial sentences are granted amnesty according to defined criteria. All men sentenced to up to three years, or who have less than three years remaining to serve, will be released immediately. All women sentenced to up to four years, or who have less than four years remaining, will be released immediately. In addition, all men aged 60 and above and all women aged 50 and above will be released immediately. Furthermore, all juveniles who were under the age of 18 at the time of committing the offence will be released immediately,” he said.
The second criterion, Gogu said, concerns sentence reductions.
“All other convicted persons will receive a one-year reduction, while women and juveniles will receive a one-and-a-half-year reduction,” he stated.
The third, Gogu added, relates to amnesty from criminal prosecution.
“Proceedings are discontinued for offences punishable by up to three years of imprisonment, subject to the exceptions provided in this law,” he said.
Regarding the exemptions, the Minister stated that none of the beneficiaries may have committed serious offences.
“The list of exemptions is extensive and deliberate. Excluded are all murders under aggravating circumstances, all sexual offences, trafficking, terrorism, corruption and organised crime, electoral offences, money laundering, and any person or offence falling under the jurisdiction of SPAK and GJKKO,” he said.
According to Gogu, criminal amnesty “is a European instrument, as it is recognised in all consolidated democracies and EU member states. The European standard does not prohibit amnesty, but requires that it must not tolerate corruption, organised crime, or serious offences, and this standard lies at the core of this draft legislation.”
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