The government decreased some law enforcement efforts. Articles 110(a) and 128(b) of the criminal code criminalized sex trafficking and labor trafficking and prescribed penalties of eight to 15 years’ imprisonment for a trafficking offense involving an adult victim, and 10 to 20 years’ imprisonment for an offense involving a child victim. These penalties were sufficiently stringent and, with respect to sex trafficking, commensurate with those prescribed for other grave crimes, such as rape. The Albanian State Police (ASP) investigated 26 cases, compared with 85 cases in 2022. The ASP also investigated three cases for “knowingly soliciting or patronizing a sex trafficking victim to perform a commercial sex act,” compared with none in 2022. The General Prosecution Office (GPO) prosecuted eight new cases (seven for sex trafficking and one for an unspecific form of trafficking), compared with 17 new cases in 2022. GPO continued to prosecute 42 cases initiated in previous years. Separately, the Special Prosecution Structure against Corruption and Organized Crime (SPAK) initiated one new investigation (two in 2022) and continued to prosecute two cases initiated in previous reporting periods. Courts did not convict any traffickers for the second consecutive year, compared with 11 convictions in 2021. In past years, judges sentenced some traffickers to lenient sentences, such as probation, which undercut efforts to hold traffickers accountable, weakened deterrence, created potential security and safety concerns for victims, and was not equivalent to the graveness of the crime. The government did not report any new investigations, prosecutions, or convictions of government employees complicit in human trafficking crimes; however, corruption and official complicity in trafficking crimes remained concerns.
ASP’s Criminal Police Department Directorate of Investigations of Narcotics and Trafficking maintained an Anti-Trafficking Unit, which investigated trafficking in persons in addition to drug and contraband trafficking. Each of ASP’s 12 regional directorates also maintained a section that investigated trafficking among other crimes. The government continued judicial reforms that changed prosecutorial jurisdiction for trafficking cases; SPAK and the Special Court of Appeals on Corruption and Organized Crime maintained jurisdiction over trafficking cases related to organized crime, while GPO and district courts prosecuted trafficking cases without an organized crime nexus. However, GRETA, prosecutors, and other observers reported ASP and district prosecutors did not have the specialized experience and capacity to investigate and prosecute trafficking cases. GRETA, OSCE, and other observers reported authorities conflated overlapping elements of “exploitation of prostitution” and sex trafficking and, at times, used the charge with a lesser burden of proof, also resulting in lesser penalties, because it required less specialization and time or because of the false belief that trafficking crimes required a transnational element. Similarly, some authorities prosecuted defendants with “disgraceful acts against minors,” “sexual harassment,” or “sexual intercourse with violence” instead of trafficking. Limited personnel and financial resources and reports of constant turnover of law enforcement created additional obstacles in maintaining capacity to investigate trafficking, including a lack of resources to investigate organized crime cases and/or cases facilitated by virtual means. The government maintained institutionalized training programs at the School of Magistrates for judges, prosecutors, and judicial police. The government, in cooperation with NGOs and international organizations, trained police officers, judges, prosecutors, and victim coordinators on various anti-trafficking issues. The government received and executed one extradition request from foreign authorities, and GPO sent 10 requests for legal assistance to foreign authorities.
from 2024 Trafficking in Persons Report – U.S. Department of State
2024 Trafficking in Persons Report – United States Department of State
