The Council of Europe activities that supported the national authorities in enhancing their capacities in addressing radicalisation in prisons and managing violent extremist prisoners (VEPs) in North Macedonia were completed last week.

Namely, on 20-21 September 2022, the multi-disciplinary teams discussed the utilisation of the VEP-specific risk and needs assessment (RNA) instrument and individual programme. It was concluded that the intervention tools are applied throughout the penitentiary institutions, most of which have established multi-treatment teams that facilitate the exchange of information.

Furthermore, a follow-up session held on 22 September 2022 with all the stakeholders marked the completion of the activities that focus on the preparation for release and post-penal assistance to radicalised inmates and VEPs. The multi-agency cooperation and sharing information on VEPs’ case management is now regulated with Standard Operating Procedures that entered into force in June 2021.

In addition to the acquired knowledge and skills, one of the greatest achievements of this component is the established regular inter-institutional coordination between the main stakeholders and actors in this field. As a result, throughout the past year, the multi-agency cooperation on preparation for release of radicalised inmates has visibly improved.

This activity was organised under the action on “Enhancing the capacities of the penitentiary system and the External Oversight Mechanism in North Macedonia”, which is a part of the joint European Union and Council of Europe programme “Horizontal Facility for the Western Balkans and Turkey 2019-2022".