Serbian prison system improves methodology for management and rehabilitation of violent extremist prisoners

  Prison professionals from treatment and security departments of four detention facilities in Serbia have learned about the latest improvements in the methodology used in identification of signs of radicalisation, assessment of risk and needs, and rehabilitation of violent extremist prisoners and prisoners at risk from radicalisation, at a training session organised on 19-20 September 2024 in Belgrade, following an earlier review of the methodology by a working group. Prison front-line staff from detention facilities in Pančevo, Beograd, Kragujevac and the facility for women prisoners in Požarevac, practiced the use of the methodological tools adjusted and optimised to meet the needs and context of Serbian penitentiary system and rehabilitation approaches, and updated their treatment and interviewing techniques applied in daily work with this category of prisoners. In addition to these topics, the practitioners learned about the legal and institutional framework of Serbia in the prevention of radicalisation and violent extremism and the findings of the Survey on all forms of radicalisation and violent extremism in the Republic of Serbia, conducted by the Serbian Ministry of Interior in 2023. The training was organised under the auspices of the Beneficiary-specific component for Serbia under the regional action “Enhancing co-operation in the Western Balkans in managing violent extremism in prisons and preventing further radicalisation after release”, implemented under the joint European Union and Council of Europe programme “Horizontal Facility for the Western Balkans and Türkiye”, co-funded by EU and Council of Europe and implemented by the Council of Europe.