Other threats to BIRN Journalist at the Court Hearing, Tirana, 06/04/2022

Tirana •︎ 07/04/2022

Other threats to BIRN Journalist at the Court Hearing, Tirana, 06/04/2022

Translations: Tirana 

  • Case info

  • Personal info

  • Regional center
    Tirana
  • Gender
    Male
  • Victim(s) name
    BIRN

  • Media outlet

  • Name of the media outlet
    BIRN
  • Type of media platform
    Online Media
  • Source of information about the incident
    https://www.reporter.al/2022/04/05/gjyqi-i-dosjes-184-kthehet-ne-seance-censure-ndaj-medias/

  • Incident Data

  • Date of incident
    06.04.2022
  • City
    Tirana
  • Perpetrator(s)
    Known (suspected)
  • Attacked by
    Authorities - individuals
  • Type of incident
    life_threat

  • Action by the authorities

  • Action taken by the journalists' association

  • Was journalist's association informed by the journalists directly?
    Yes

At the “File 184” court hearing, the BIRN reporter was censored by Judge Nertila Kape, who took on the role of editor-in-chief, showing how the case should be reported.

Defendant Aga accused the BIRN journalist, the author of an article, of eavesdropping and demanded that he be expelled from the hearing. Aga is being accused together with the former administrator of Lura, Hasan Hoti, for abuse of office and involvement in the vote manipulation scheme in 2016. He claimed, among other things, that the articles ‘were not published in the newspaper, but on Facebook’.

Asked on the phone by BIRN about the diversion of the trial and the censorship efforts, Kape declined to comment, saying: “The hearing was public.”

Special requests for this reporter were also made by the lawyer Gentian Rumano, who claimed that the photo of the former chief of the Dibër Police Station was being used without permission. In the photo in question, Aga and the other defendants in the case are with their backs to the camera.

Meanwhile, the court hearing did not continue beyond the review of media reports, as after the absence of a witness, the hearing was postponed to April 19.

This is not the first time the BIRN reporter has been censored or denied access to the 184 dossier hearings.