Publicist Kastriot Myftari has been arrested today by the anti-terror unit of the police after publishing a long Facebook post attacking EU Ambassador Romana Vlahutin. According to Lapsi, Myftari will stay under arrest until the court decides on further prosecution.
Myftari has been arrested for allegedly violating art. 223 of the Penal Code, against “public calls for violent acts”:
Calls made public to commit violent acts against the constitutional order, are punished with a fine or imprisonment up to three years.
The post, under the title “The curious adventures of a Croatian whore in Tirana,” describes Vlahutin’s career from the moment she was appointed by the former Croatian President Ivo Josipović as special envoy for the Western Balkans and deputy councilor, her switch to Tirana as EU Ambassador, and the accusations over corruption with the acquisition of the EU Head of Mission residence in Rolling Hills.
Myftari also accuses Vlahutin of belonging to a Soros-funded conspiracy to create a new “New Yugoslavia.” It was however the first sentence of the final paragraph that led to his arrest:
So any Albanian that loves his own fatherland can kill Romana and this would be an anti-terrorist, not a terrorist act. In this story there is only one terrorist, who is the Whore of Pantovčak, which, remaining without tutor, works on the account of Belgrade.
It remains to be seen whether the state can convincingly argue that this is indeed a “public call to violence,” considering the usage of the verb “can” rather than “should.”
The arrest, taking place weeks before the elections and in a tense political climate, however, risks having a chilling effect on the freedom of speech in the country.
