Biographies Working Group on Restorative Justice & Imprisonment

Daniela Arieti is a sociologist and restorative justice practitioner with extensive experience as a mediator at the restorative justice centre in Trento, Italy, where she works with both juveniles and adults. Since 2020, she has coordinated a working group dedicated to the implementation of restorative justice within the Trento prison, contributing to the development and integration of restorative approaches in the penal system.

Carla Ciavarella is a retired penitentiary executive from the Ministry of Justice (Italy), with over 35 years of professional experience. Throughout her career, she has held various key positions, including manager of training courses for prison staff, director of prisons, and head of international relations, research, and inter-institutional cooperation. She has coordinated several European projects, focusing on research and studies related to restorative justice, the prevention and management of sexual offenders, proselytism, and violent radicalisation in prison settings, with a strong emphasis on human rights protection. For nine years, she served at the UNODC, where she worked on penitentiary reform in Afghanistan, coordinated police cooperation projects to combat illicit trafficking in the Balkans, and led initiatives in South Africa to address domestic violence and protect abused women. Since January 2024, she has been a member of the PC-CP working group as an expert at the Council of Europe. 

Elvis Dibanins is a restorative justice researcher and practitioner with extensive experience in mediation, conflict management, and community engagement. His professional background includes work in prison administration as both a corrections officer and a probation service officer. He previously served as a leading expert in restorative justice at the State Probation Service of Latvia. Currently, he works as a Learning Programme Manager and lectures on public law and business management courses.

Idıl Elveris graduated from Istanbul University School of Law and completed her Master of Laws at Tulane University in New Orleans, USA. She practised law in New York, Istanbul, and Kosovo before transitioning to academia.

Rocío Nicolás López is a social educator specialising in gender-based violence and socio-educational intervention in penitentiary settings. He holds a PhD in Education and works as a restorative justice facilitator in prison with AMEE. Alongside his practical work, he is also a researcher and lecturer at the university, focusing on education, social justice, and inclusive practices within the prison system.

Daniela Hirt is a qualified social worker and social pedagogue (FH), mediator, systemic family therapist (SG), and trauma pedagogue/trauma-informed specialist consultant (DeGPT/BAG-TP). She is also a certified specialist in perpetrator work on domestic violence (BAG TäHG/FTHG). She works as a project manager, specialist consultant, and trainer in the field of restorative justice within prisons, and implements domestic violence prevention programmes both in Germany and internationally.

Tiina Pakkonen holds a B.A. (Hons) in Applied Social Studies (Professional Social Care). She is an experienced regional team leader in victim support, with a professional background in working with service users affected by complex psychological needs, intimate partner violence, and long-term trauma.