The Court of Durres decided that Xhulia Aliaj’s arrest for inducing panic was lawful, and ordered her to appear before court twice a months until a final decision on her case.
The judge’s decision in the first hearing of the case against Ms Aliaj, confirmed the prosecutor’s demand.
Xhulia Aliaj, 25, was arrested by police after the November 26 earthquake, when she asked the government on Facebook to assess any damage to oil and gas deposits in Durres, and called on citizens to leave the area due to fears it was unsafe. She cited an article on an Italian news portal.
Two days after the earthquake struck, Prime Minister Edi Rama announced that he would “forcibly intervene” in media that spreads “fake news”. He cited the so-called “state of emergency” that the government has supposedly enacted, as the reason for the action. However, the government has approved no decision for a “state of emergency”, which technically speaking can be declared by parliament. The government also shut down joqalbania.com for spreading fake news.
Aliaj’s arrest was widely condemned on social media by members of civil society and the public, among them Dom Gjergj Meta of the Rreshen Diocese who has called for her release.
