Albanian police must hold those officers who attacked journalists during the 8 January protest to account and ensure the media can cover public interest events without fear, according to the international Committee to Protect Journalists.
In a statement published on Tuesday (18 January), they condemned the use of tear gas and water cannons which directly hit at least nine journalists.
“Journalists in Albania must be able to cover protests without fear that they will be attacked by police,” said Gulnoza Said, CPJ’s Europe and Central Asia program coordinator, in New York.
“Albanian authorities must investigate the recent police use of tear gas and water cannons on journalists covering a demonstration in Tirana, and ensure that the officers responsible are held to account.”
Seven Ora News journalists including three camera persons and four reporters sustained burns to their eyes and had breathing problems after police fired “a disproportionate amount” of tear gas at them.
Police also fired a water cannon at a reporting team for Fax News, according to one of the affected cameramen. He said that he and his colleagues were clearly identifiable as members of the press and were wearing clothing with the station’s logo. His equipment was damaged in the attack.
Freelance photojournalist Felix Bilani told private TV channel NOA that he had to receive medical treatment after police fired tear gas at him during the protest.
CPJ emailed the Albanian Ministry of the Interior, which oversees the police, for comment, but did not immediately receive any reply. Exit also contacted the ministry with questions, but again, no answer was forthcoming.
Earlier this month, Reporters Without Borders criticised the police for deliberately targeting journalists during the protest.
Reporters Without Borders called for sanctions for those responsible for police violence against journalists.
Albanian authorities have been repeatedly called out over the indiscriminate use of these methods during protests, to the detriment of media workers, whose job it is to be there.
In 2019, at opposition-led anti-government protests, countless journalists were targeted with tear gas and water cannons over the course of several weeks of demonstrations. Some were hospitalised, and other reports of police assaulting them with batons. The authorities refused to cooperate with journalists who demanded to know what chemicals were being used against them due to fears of prolonged exposure. No charges were brought.
Then in 2020, during the demolition of the National Theatre, police assaulted and detained multiple journalists while they were covering the protests. Officers had no name badges or numbers, a move the at-the-time Interior Minister Sander Lleshaj defended, meaning they could not be identified or have complaints filed against them.
Later that year, following the murder of an unarmed young man, Klodian Rasha, by an on-duty police officer, large protests erupted around the country and in the capital of Tirana. As well as allegedly assaulting and detaining minors, there were multiple reports of assault and detention of journalists, including getting them to sign false confessions to be released.
Then on 6 January, special forces in Shkodra assaulted a journalist. While on a walk with his children, Simon Shkreli came across the local police force and RENEA operatives doing a sweep of the area. He put on his journalist badge and proceeded to record the scene. A police officer in civilian clothing approached him and asked him to stop recording before Shkreli identified himself as a journalist.
Albanian Journalist Attacked by Special Police Forces in Shkodra
According to Shkreli, he was recognized by the head of the Shkodra Police who took him aside and asked him again to stop recording. When Shkreli refused, a RENEA operative approached him, grabbed him and removed the journalist badge while using denigrating language towards Shkreli, in the presence of his children.
These incidents form a part of a long list of physical attacks on Albanian journalists that have taken place over the last years. You can see documented incidents from 2019, 2020 and 2021 here.
The seriousness of the issue is further compounded by the fact that the police consistently fail to prosecute crimes against journalists. Death threats, assaults, obstructions, verbal abuse, and other offences are routinely dismissed or just investigated while never proceeding to court. There have been no convictions of crimes against media workers in recent years in Albania.
