Albania: CFWIJ condemns the mistreatment of journalist Klodiana Lala from the police

August 2, 2021- Klodiana Lala, a prominent crime reporter associated with News 24 TV channel, was mistreated by the police authorities along with her colleague Ergys Gjencaj on Tuesday, July 27. The journalists were passing in a media van when they stopped to film an anti-drug operation being conducted by the police.. After the suspect narrowly escaped arrest, police tackled Ergys to the ground. As Klodiana began to object, an alleged plainclothes officer pushed her away from the scene. Despite Klodiana identifying herself and Ergys as journalists, the police continued the search on her colleague.  CFWIJ condemns the mishandling of the situation by the police and calls for an immediate investigation into the incident. We believe the unnecessary use of power by the authorities can be interpreted as intimidation of journalists at work. 

Videos emerging from the scene showed the police stopping a car supposedly belonging to a criminal who refused to unlock his doors. Meanwhile, a News 24 car passed by and stopped to record the interaction. Klodiana and her colleague exited the car to observe what was happening and started filming the scene from a reasonable distance. As the journalists were recording, the suspect narrowly escaped the arrest from police and fled in his car. At this point, rather than following the suspect, the police turned towards the journalists. The police officers came and grabbed the phone from Ergys and ordered him to lie face down on the ground. Klodiana protested, but a suspected plainclothes police officer grabbed her by the arm and pushed her away. The police detained Ergys for an hour after the altercation.  

While sharing details of the incident, Klodiana said she and Ergys happened to be at the scene when the arrest was taking place. When the police grabbed Ergys,  she cried out to the authorities that they were stopping a journalist. She also emphasized that the police could not have missed the media logo of their van. 

The Minister of Internal Affairs, Bledi Cuci, confirmed he will order an in-depth investigation into the incident. The Tirana Circuit Prosecution office will be responsible for looking into the police conduct during the incident in question. A journalists' rights group based in Tirana also issued a statement condemning the events and called for the perpetrators to be punished. The rights group openly criticized the police violence against a working reporter. 

The Coalition For Women In Journalism demands a fair inquiry into the incident. We believe the anger of the police was misdirected towards Klodiana and her colleague Ergys. We hope the police officers responsible for the misconduct are held accountable for their unjustified actions.