Lawyers of Ylli Ndroqi, the owner of Ora News have asked the Special Court to lift the seizure of assets against him.
They said they had previously asked the Special Prosecutor’s Office to do the same but they did not receive a response. His legal team said that the measure of seizure of assets is wrong.
The Prosecution says it has been investigating Ndroqi for 18 months in cooperation with police in foreign countries. They claim the investigation is to “provide evidence of the source of income for the benefit of assets.”
The seized assets include 11 businesses, 12 real estate properties and two vehicles. The companies, including RTV Ora are now being administered by the Agency for the Administration of Sequestered and Confiscated Assets.
Ndroqi’s lawyers previously said that the actions against their client were designed to “stop the voice of RTV Ora and Ora News” from being critical of the government. They added that the accusations against Ndroqi are due to court cases he has initiated against Mayor of Tirana, Erion Veliaj.
When the seizure order was enforced, the Ora News TV station was surrounded by special forces policemen armed with weapons.
The action of the police was slammed by the Albanian Media Council who called it a “de facto attack on free speech”. While recognising the need for justice and adherence to the rule of law, the AMC said that the execution of the seizures through sending armed police to the TV station creates a “chilling effect on other media and journalist critical of the government.”
