According to an international organisation official, verified by the GDP, Montenegro has not established a moratorium on new immigration detention orders and there have been no releases of immigration detainees. While immigration detainees are reportedly tested for Covid-19, deportations have not been halted.
The official also reported that access to the country and to the asylum procedure were suspended from March to June 2020. Asylum seekers in the Centre for Reception of Foreigners Seeking International Protection, located in Spuz, have been placed in quarantine. Although the situation returned to normal by 8 June, admission to the Reception centre was only allowed following 14 days in quarantine and a negative Covid-19 test. The official also informed the GDP that another asylum facility will soon be opened close to the border with Albania, and will have a capacity of 60 beds.
Regarding the country’s prisons, on 24 April, the European Union and the Council of Europe donated 2,000 masks, 50 liters of disinfectants, and 10 dispensers to Montenegro’s prison administration. By 9 July, two staff members at the Spusk prison had tested positive for the disease; nine inmates and 21 staff members were placed in isolation. No Covid-19 cases have been detected thus far amongst the prison population.
- Anonymous international organisation official, Global Detention Project’s Covid-19 survey, 21 July 2020.
- Anonymous international organisation official, Email exchange with Mario Guido (Global Detention Project), 22 July 2020.
- M. Nova, M. M. Objavila, “Dvadeset Devet Zaposlenih u Samoizolaciji,” RTCG, 9 July 2020, http://www.rtcg.me/koronavirus/crnagora/285324/dvadeset-devet-zaposlenih-u-samoizolaciji.html
- Council of Europe, “Montenegrin Prison System Receives Protective Equipment to Address Covid-19 Crisis,” 24 April 2020, https://www.coe.int/en/web/podgorica/-/montenegrin-prison-system-receives-protective-equipment-to-address-covid-19-crisis
- Prison Staff Receive Protective and Hygiene Equipment from part of EU and CoE, (Council of Europe, “Montenegrin prison system receives protective equipment to address COVID-19 crisis,” 24 April 2020, https://www.coe.int/en/web/podgorica/-/montenegrin-prison-system-receives-protective-equipment-to-address-covid-19-crisis)
