Punishment to the cell
Upon their return, rebel prisoners who refused to work were put in cells and left in isolation up to 30 days. In official records, we discover that only in the first half of 1980, 118 convicts had been put to the cell.
Obligatory reading of ideological books
Afternoon at the camp for first-shift prisoners continued after roll call with what was called ideological education. In the camp library, the literature and press of the Labor Party of Albania was read. We learn from many testimonies that this process started from 05:10 pm to 7:30 pm. For the prisoners of conscience, this was another form of psychological violence.
Meeting the target at all costs, “Either your plan or your soul”
Meeting the rates was often impossible. Few prisoners could physically handle that titanic load at work. In many cases during the cave-ins in the tunnel, there was not enough mineral to fill seven wagons. But prison command never accepted any justification for not meeting the rate. The most common expression of officers in Spaç was “Either your plan (target) or your soul”, which implied that death awaited all those who didn’t give the regime whatever was required at all costs.
At the infirmary
Spaç Prison Camp had an infirmary with eight beds. This infirmary was designed to meet all of the camp’s health needs. But referring to some periods of high intake of patients (wounded in accidents, with a cold, poisoning from food or underground gases in tunnels, chronic diseases or many other health concerns), the infirmary didn’t meet even the most minimal needs of prisoners.
Seven people in a cell
In certain periods, when discipline in the camp was exerted more aggressively and prisoners revolted more, violence and punishments also increased. In these cases, when several prisoners were punished at once, up to six or seven prisoners were put together in a single cell, who considering the very confined space of these cells, could not even sit or straighten their feet on the ground.
Roll call on the open, between the barracks
The first site where roll call was done in the first years of the camp’s operation was the open area near the smith’s. Beyond traditional schedules of roll calls, mainly when returning from the mine, as well as when departing to work, roll call was done through an alarm notifying all prisoners to gather in the designated area. That was where prisoners were often held for hours (two to three hours), under the sun, rain or even icy frosts during winter. Prisoners had to stand straight as this process went on.