According to Albanian media reports, on 18 September 2024 Albanian former Prime Minister Sali Berisha, allegedly made accusations against Albanian journalists, claiming they were being manipulated and used by the Special Prosecutor’s Office against Corruption and Organised Crime (Struktura e Posaçme Kundër Korrupsionit – SPAK). Berisa is also chairman and co-founder of the Democratic Party of Albania (Partia Demokratike e Shqipërisë)
He went as far as allegedly threatening to treat journalists as “members of a criminal organization” after a 500-page investigative document on corruption was released to the media. This document implicated the politician and his son-in-law in an alleged passive corruption case involving one Albanian sports club.
During a press conference, Berisha condemned the media’s coverage of the investigative file, labeling it as politically motivated. Berisha called the SPAK accusation “untrue” and described the case as politically motivated.
Back in January this year, when questioned about corruption, he similarly accused a journalist of being a “spokesperson” for his political adversaries as a means of dodging questions.
This pattern of targeting journalists is not new for politicians in Albania; political representatives in the power and in the opposition are very often verbally attacking journalists who are critical reporting.
The Association of Journalists (Asociacioni i Gazetarëve të Shqipërisë- AGSH) also reacted and asked Berisha to restrain himself, to stop attacks on journalists and to allow the media to freely report the criminal process against him, his family members and those related to them, just like any other process.
The South East Europe Media Organisation (SEEMO) condemns the recent threats made against Albanian journalists. Such rhetoric is unacceptable and constitutes an attack on press freedom, which is a fundamental pillar of democracy. Journalists must be allowed to report freely and without intimidation, especially on matters of public interest and accountability. SEEMO urges political leaders to respect the vital role of the media and refrain from inciting hostility. SEEMO will be closely monitoring this situation and stand in solidarity with the journalists who are facing such threats.
South East Europe Media Organisation (SEEMO) is a regional non-governmental, non profit network of editors, media executives and leading journalists in Southeast, South, East and Central Europe. SEEMO members are in Albania, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Estonia, Georgia, Greece, Hungary, Kazakhstan, Kosovo, Kyrgyzstan, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Moldova (with the territory of Transdnestria), Montenegro, North Macedonia, Poland, Romania, Russia, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Türkiye / Turkey, Ukraine and Uzbekistan. Austria, Italy, Vatican and San Marino have a special status in SEEMO. SEEMO has over 3000 individual members, and additional media as corporate members.
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