Shqip
Play with Crossword
FLASH NEWS

BIRN: Berisha threatens journalists for reporting on SPAK's indictment against him, the reactions are coming

2024-09-18 18:55:03 / POLITIKË NGA GJERGJ EREBARA

BIRN: Berisha threatens journalists for reporting on SPAK's indictment

Former Prime Minister Sali Berisha threatened unnamed journalists, declaring that he "will consider them as part of a criminal structure" after the publication of details from the special prosecutor's indictment file against him, an accusation that sheds light on controversial business relationships different from himself and his relatives.

The Association of Journalists of Albania described Berisha's threats as "unacceptable".

Berisha, 79, a politician who has dominated Albanian political life for three decades and has run the country as president and prime minister, was indicted a few days ago on charges of passive corruption of high officials, a charge that carries a penalty of up to 11 years in prison, if proven.

The prosecution claims that Berisha's son-in-law, Jamarbër Malltezi, is the beneficiary of the actions of the Council of Ministers during the time when Berisha was prime minister and that he used the benefits from the Home Plan company, which was for many years under notarial ownership but not registered in the CKB of Malltez, to cover Berisha's various expenses, including legal fees in France and the United Kingdom, payments with which Berisha intended to fight the decisions of the US and British governments for sanctions against him on the grounds that he was involved in corruption .

Berisha has continuously attacked justice officials, case prosecutors and judges, claiming that he is innocent and the victim of a politically mounted process. On Wednesday, in a press conference he held from his house where he is under security measures, he threatened journalists without specifically mentioning which of them he was with, while claiming without providing evidence that these journalists are "misused".

"I find that some of them are abused in an extreme way by Skapi," said Berisha, referring to SPAK. "...I will treat the same as members of the criminal organization, the Party Skapi."

The Association of Journalists of Albania, a civil society organization in Tirana, described Berisha's threats as "unacceptable".

"AGSH asks Mr. Berisha to restrain himself, to stop attacks on journalists and to allow them to freely report the criminal process against him, his family members, those related to them, just like any other process," the statement reads.

Journalists in Albania are regularly put under pressure from both sides of politics, which, despite their disagreements on various issues, clearly have in common the desire to impose on journalists what they should report and how they should report.

This is also not the first time that Berisha, who in 1997 was declared one of the ten biggest enemies of the media on the planet, attacks journalists.

In power from 2005 to 2013, he frequently attacked journalists as "daggers" in the hands of crime, or "opposition media," or "mafia media" whenever his administration faced questions about suspected corrupt activities.

His opponent Edi Rama has used the phrases "cauldron", "charlatan", "penalizer" or "public danger" whenever he has faced serious questions about corruption or various abuses of power./ BIRN

 

Happening now...

Want to read more news

ideas

top

Alfa recipes

TRENDING

services

  • POLICE129
  • STREET POLICE126
  • AMBULANCE112
  • FIREFIGHTER128