Our History
Founded in 1994, the Albanian Rehabilitation Centre for Trauma and Torture (ARCT) is a non-profit, non-political, and non-governmental organization dedicated to the rehabilitation of torture survivors and the prevention of torture in Albania.
Originally established as NorwayAid Albania under the guidance of Norwegian humanitarian leadership, including Berit Becker, ARCT emerged in response to the profound legacy of political persecution and systematic human rights violations during nearly five decades of dictatorship.
As Albania transitioned toward democracy, ARCT evolved into a nationally anchored human rights institution, contributing to the development of a society grounded in human dignity, rule of law, and social justice.
With a consolidated rehabilitation component, initially focused on former political prisoners and their families, ARCT has expanded its scope to address both the consequences and the prevention of torture across all places of deprivation of liberty, including police commissariats, prisons, pre-detention facilities, psychiatric institutions, and migration and asylum centers.
5,487
POLITICAL EXECUTIONS
27,524
POLITICAL PRISIONERS
995
DEATH FROM TORTURE IN PRISIONERS
1,253
FOREIGN CITIZENS CONVICTED
+50,000
INTERNED / DEPORTED
Victims of Political Persecution during the Communist Regime in Albania
These figures illustrate the scale of political repression during the communist dictatorship in Albania, including executions, imprisonment, torture-related deaths, and mass internment. The data reflects documented cases of victims targeted under the regime’s policy of political persecution and class struggle.
Albanian Rehabilitation Centre for Trauma and Torture
As a representative of the Albanian civil society, ARCT is an organization operating in a field where international support is yet vital for the sustainability and continuity of work, as state institutions are often indifferent or even against (openly or hidden) human rights organizations.
Through such international support ARCT has been able to influence directly or as a cumulative factor in a number of areas:
1) Offering services to a large number of torture victims in the country contributing to a better life (although yet very difficult) of a defined social group – former political persecuted
2) Influencing on national legal frame, besides other, in regard to:a. Service and treatment of inmates in prisons and pre-detention facilitiesb. Service and treatment of individuals in psychiatric hospitals and forensic psychiatry facilitiesc.Social Integration of former political persecuted
ARCT believes that working towards common democratic goals such as respect for rule of law, human rights protection, fight against impunity and social injustice will bring all stakeholders together, representing an excellent opportunity for development of sound reforms in Albania.
ARCT AWARD OF GRATITUDE BY THE PRESIDENT OF ALBANIA
ARCT Awards & Certifications
