Prime Minister Edi Rama has defended the chief of State Police Ardi Veliu who tried to justify police violence against a minor by claiming that the kid came from a bad and uneducated family.
Veliu showed members of parliament a private video-recording of the boy’s mother holding an object in the shape of a firearm to illustrate the poor cultural and educational background of the family.
None of the 5 MPs is known to have reacted to Veliu’s public denigration of the mother and kid.
It was later revealed that the mother was an actress and the private-video recording were scenes from a movie she had acted in.
While calls for Veliu’s resignation increased, he claimed his statement was taken out of context and said he was sorry for not having been able to explain that what he actually meant was that people and the media often attack the police unjustly.
On Tuesday, during a Covid-19 hospital inauguration, Prime Minister Edi Rama said he believed Veliu’s words and added that his attempt was to show the role of the family in a child’s education.
“I tend to trust his public apology and the explanation he gave rather than all the moralists of this country […] While he agreed with all [criticism against police violence], it was a bad attempt to explain the family responsibility and its role in the well-being of the younger generation,” Rama stated.
Rama praised Veliu’s professionalism and integrity and said that “this issue is closed.”
A number of people on social media as well as the Children’s Human Rights Centre of Albania have been demanding Veliu’s dismissal.
The minor’s family has stated that they will sue the police chief for defamation and use of personal data.
