From: Exit News
![Ilir Meta deklarate Keshilli i Sigurise Albanian President Approves Legal Changes for Violators of Coronavirus Restrictions](https://exit.al/en/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2020/04/Ilir-Meta-deklarate-Keshilli-i-Sigurise.jpg)
On April 22, Albanian President Ilir Meta decreed changes to the Criminal Code that mandate prison sentences for those who knowingly spread coronavirus.
The changes were passed by the parliament on April 16, in an extraordinary plenary session.
Meta deemed the harsher penalties that are now part of the Criminal Code as necessary during the pandemic.
The changes passed by the parliament were more moderate than those initially proposed by the government. Meta claimed that this moderation came as a result of the concerns regarding human rights raised by him, the Albanian ombudsperson and civil society.