Gazeta Dita publicly apologized to investigative journalist Ola Xama and removed articles that were part of a smear campaign following her reporting on the corruption scandal at Tirana’s waste incinerator. The apology came after two years and a civil lawsuit.
This matters. But it took two years and a civil lawsuit to achieve what a functional press complaints mechanism should resolve in weeks.
The case exposes a pattern SJN has documented across the region: coordinated personal attacks, including targeting journalists’ families, used to silence reporters covering corruption and power. It also reveals a concrete gap:
Albania has no independent press council capable of handling complaints like this.
Accountability is possible. The mechanisms to achieve it reliably are not yet in place.
Photo: Canva