University lecturers have condemned the two laws on online media drafted by the Albanian government, at a public consultation held by the Law Committee in Parliament today.
Mark Marku, Head of the Department of Journalism at the University of Tirana said the laws are designed to suppress the media.
“This law requires the suppression of the media but this attempt will not work. We have experience with those who attempted to infringe on the media. We have had an EU expert who has rejected the law,” he said.
He added that the law is ridiculous and making any improvements would be akin to cooperating in a crime.
“Any improvement that is thought to be made is just a complicity in crime. This procedure violates media freedom, this is a ridiculous law.”
For two days, the Law Committee has been holding hearings with journalists and media freedom organisations. Exit journalists have been excluded from the hearings despite previously having been confirmed as being able to attend.The OSCE has rejected the bill, calling for radical changes and it has been widely condemned by international and local media organizations and journalists, the European Union, and Council of Europe.
