The second group of prison staff from Bosnia and Herzegovina, coming from multidisciplinary teams working directly with violent extremist prisoners (VEPs) or inmates at risk of becoming radicalised, have completed all six modules of the new specialised in-house training programme, facilitated by local trainers who are peers of their trainees and who have been identified and coached by the Council of Europe.

The participants representing five penitentiaries (Zenica, Busovaca, Bijeljina, Mostar and Istocno Sarajevo prisons) improved their understanding of violent extremism and radicalisation, the relevant international standards and applicable legal framework, and enhanced their knowledge of the case management system. They also upgraded their communication skills with regard to VEPs and improved awareness of collaboration among prison departments and inter-agency cooperation.

This training programme is a part of the unified training curriculum for all prison staff in the country, created with the help of the Council of Europe for regular trainings organised by prisons and ministries of justice in Bosnia and Herzegovina.

The State prison will continue providing premises for different training sessions and capacity-building measures on addressing radicalisation and management of VEPs organised by the Council of Europe. This collaboration with the State prison and key institutional partners will allow to build a Centre for Excellence as a development hub for domestic and regional professionals and practitioners working with and helping to re-socialise VEPs.

This activity was organised within the framework of the project "Ensuring Sustainable Penitentiary Actions in managing rehabilitation of violent extremist prisoners in Bosnia and Herzegovina (ESPA-VEP)", funded under the Council of Europe Action Plan for Bosnia and Herzegovina 2022-2025