KOSOVO: EU PLANS FOR THE PENITENTIARY SYSTEM

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 PRISTINA 000778

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

DEPT FOR EUR, EUR/SCE, DRL, INL, AND S/WCI, NSC FOR BRAUN,
USUN FOR DREW SCHUFLETOWSKI, USOSCE FOR STEVE STEGER, OPDAT
FOR ACKER

E.O. 12958: DECL: 09/11/2017
TAGS: PGOV KJUS KCRM EAID KDEM UNMIK KV
SUBJECT: KOSOVO: EU PLANS FOR THE PENITENTIARY SYSTEM

REF: PRISTINA 640

Classified By: COM TINA KAIDANOW FOR REASONS 1.4 (B) AND (D)


1. (C) SUMMARY: Following the August 2007 escape of seven of
Kosovo's most dangerous criminals from Dubrava Prison
(reftel),which highlighted security problems in Kosovo's
penitentiary system, the European Union Planning Team for
Kosovo (EUPT) shared with USOP its assessment of Kosovo's
prisons and plans for the European Security and Defense
Policy (ESDP) rule of law mission's prison component. The EU
believes Kosovo's prisons generally meet European standards,
but also recognizes that security is a serious problem and
local capacity is weak. To overcome these challenges the EU
intends to create an ESDP Corrections Unit with 77
internationals. It will monitor and mentor Kosovo
Corrections Service (KCS) employees and take over from UNMIK
Police responsibility for prisoner transport, perimeter
security at Dubrava and supervision of Dubrava's Block One,
where high-risk prisoners reside. The EU hopes the new model
will improve efficiency, build KCS capacity and help Kosovars
meet the goal of completely transitioning the penitentiary
system. END SUMMARY.

Kosovo's Prisons Today


2. (SBU) Kosovo has one prison for sentenced convicts in
Dubrava, a correctional center for juveniles and women in
Lipjan, and five detention centers at the district court
seats in Prizren, Gjilan, Pristina, Mitrovica and Peja.
According to EU estimates, about 75 percent of the
approximately 1,350 prisoners and 40 pre-trial detainees
reside in Dubrava. In order to avoid conflicts with the
Kosovo Albanian majority, convicted Serbs reside in the
Mitrovica Detention Center. The prisons and detention
centers generally meet international and European standards.


3. (SBU) The Kosovo Correctional Service (KCS),which UNMIK
established in 1999, oversees all of Kosovo's prison
facilities and falls under the Ministry of Justice (MOJ).
UNMIK's Penal Management Division (PMD) retains the right to
intervene only in emergency situations in Dubrava Prison, the
rest of the facilities having been transitioned to Kosovar
administration. The European Union Planning Team for Kosovo
(EUPT) estimates that the KCS has 1,600 staff, and believes
that there is a good level of ethnic diversity and gender
balance among them. Thirteen internationals, including a
former director who now has a monitoring and advising role,
augment the KCS staff. UNMIK Police handles transport of
high-risk prisoners and outside perimeter patrols of Dubrava
Prison and, to a lesser extent, the Mitrovica Detention
Center. UNMIK Police also has 12 international police
officers (IPOs) who act as supervisors for Block One of
Dubrava, where high-risk prisoners dwell.

Weak KCS Capacity and Poor Security Plague Kosovo's Prisons


4. (C) While the EUPT believes the infrastructure and
organization of Kosovo's prisons are generally good, periodic
security incidents over the last seven years have illustrated
that local capacity remains weak. These incidents include
the escape of more than 30 defendants (including many
indicted for ethnically-motivated crimes) in 2000, a 2003
riot that left five dead and 15 injured, and the August 2007
escape of seven of Kosovo's most dangerous criminals. Three
of the recent escapees, Xhavit Morina, Ramadan Shyti and
Lirim Jakupi, have ties to ethnic Albanian extremist groups
and were involved in armed clashes in Macedonia this month.
Morina (a.k.a. Commander Drenica) was killed in a gunbattle
between two ethnic Albanian extremist groups on November 1 in
a village near Tetovo, Macedonia. Shyti and Jakupi (a.k.a.
Commander Nazi) were involved in an armed clash with
Macedonian police in the same village on November 7. Shyti
was killed in the incident, while Jakupi has not been
apprehended.


5. (C) Shortly after the prison break, the EUPT sent a report

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to Brussels which acknowledged the security problems in
Kosovo's penitentiary system. They wrote that KCS technical
and organizational security systems are insufficient to cope
with serious threats and that the KCS still lacks the
capacity to handle crises without external assistance,
control the Dubrava Prison perimeter, supervise Block One of
Dubrava, or handle prisoner transport. They also identified
a number of potential future problems with Kosovo's
penitentiary system that could plague the envisioned ESDP
rule of law mission. They include an increase in the number
of high-risk prisoners as criminal investigative capabilities
improve, Kosovo Albanian staff supporting escape attempts by
prisoners they view as war heroes, assistance for escapes
from political groups or organized crime elements,
preferential or discriminatory treatment of selected
prisoners by corrupt or ethnically-motivated staff members,
and the politicization of the KCS as a result of stronger MOJ
influence and an injection of political appointees.

EUPT Plans for Kosovo's Prison System


6. (C) According to EUPT documents shared with USOP, the EU
plans to transfer prisoner escort, perimeter control in
Dubrava, and supervision of Block One of Dubrava from the
international police to the correctional system in order to
create a more sustainable admistrative structure and better
respond to security challenges. Initially, internationals
will handle the transferred functions, but EUPT hopes to
transition them as soon as practicable. The EUPT currently
envisions an ESDP Correctional Unit with 77 internationals.
The unit head and deputy unit head will have three groups
under them, Headquarters, Dubrava, and Escort and Special
Security Groups. The Headquarters Group will include two
experts in security, one in economic management, one in penal
administration, and one auditor. The Dubrava Group will have
a team leader, deputy team leader, 20 perimeter control
officers and 10 Block One supervisors. The Escort and
Special Security Group will have two coordinators for
prisoner escorts and 36 escort officers. KCS and ESDP staff
will be co-located to maximize interaction and
capacity-building in order to encourage a more rapid
transition.


7. (C) COMMENT: The August 2007 escape of seven of Kosovo's
most dangerous prisoners, including three who have ties to
ethnic Albanian extremist groups and have recently been
involved in armed clashes in Macedonia, illustrates the
importance of strengthening the KCS's capacity, as well as
the regional security implications of failing to do so. USOP
will continue to monitor the EU's correctional system-related
planning, as well as developments at the Dubrava Prison and
within the KCS. END COMMENT.
KAIDANOW