The court of Tirana decided that 11 out of 23 protesters will await trial in prison, while 2 out of 23 will be under house arrest and the rest were issued an obligation to appear before the court.
The judge overseeing the sitting was Alma Ahmeti.
The Prosecution demanded prison time for 11 protesters, obligations to appear before the court for 7 of them and house arrest for the remaining 5.
The 23 protesters are accused of “destruction of property”; “destruction of property by fire”; “opposing the official of the public order police” and “committing arbitrary acts.”
All of them deny these accusations and have claimed that the Kukës prosecutors falsified their arrest warrants and records.
The court session, that started at 10 a.m., was tense and constantly accompanied by protests outside the court building from the families of the arrested and other citizens.
Numerous police officers surrounded the court during the session.
Even though the court session was supposed to be open to the public, no medias were present during it. Opposition MPs were only allowed into the courtroom after they insisted and clashed with police officers.
