The leak of over 900,000 Albanians personal data during the run-up to general elections was one of the main issues raised in Amnesty International’s State of the World’s Human Rights report, along with violence against women, media freedom violations, and discrimination against the LGBTI community.
The report is published annually and takes a look at the state of human rights across 154 countries over the course of the previous year.
In early April 2021 an unlawful database holding the personal data of some 900,000 citizens and used by the Socialist Party for electoral purposes was leaked days before the elections. A total of 162 citizens sued the Socialist Party for violation of data protection law. In December, a further two databases were leaked including people’s salaries, work places, and car registration. It impacted over 600,000 people, the report noted.
In terms of freedom of expression, Amnesty raised concerns over the Special Anti-Corruption Structure (SPAK) which moved to seize the equipment and servers of the media that published details of the leak. This led to concerns over “freedom of expression, protection of sources, and intimidation of journalists,” Amnesty noted.
On the topic of the right to health, Amnesty reported that compulsory vaccination was ordered for high-risk groups including teachers, students, and medical staff. They also noted that according to the Ombudsman, government measures to reimburse people with COVID-19 for treatment costs, were not sufficient. This was because patients diagnosed between March-November 2020 and those who tested privately, were not covered.
For the LGBTI community, Amnesty reported they “remained subject to discrimination and harassment” and a transgender woman was beaten in the street. Additionally, it highlighted the case where the Civil Registry refused to register a lesbian couple as parents of their twin babies.
On the topic of violence against women and girls, the report found that female candidates in the general election campaign were subjected to hate speech. Additionally, more than 2750 protection orders were issued during the year, “but were poorly implemented.”
Amnesty also said that 30% of all murders were by men against domestic partners—some 16 women.
