TIRANA, April 10 – After Socialist Prime Minister Edi Rama demanded 8,000 euros as compensation for alleged defamation against Albanian journalist Ylli Rakipi, the latter initiated a counter-suit on Tuesday, saying Rama should pay him double the amount.
Rama’s suit against Rakipi, journalist and former media owner currently running the TV show ‘The Unexposed,’ was filed in January of this year over an opinion piece that aired last October, where Rakipi called Rama a “clown,” “madman” and an individual “with below average intelligence.”
According to Rama’s lawsuit, the opinion piece not only is inaccurate, but also caused offence as it “attacked the plaintiff using offensive and derogatory language.”
Further on, Rakipi’s opinion piece criticized Rama’s painting, a hobby remaining from his past as a painter, describing it as a “doodling.”
Rama said the opinion piece is an “attack on his personality and dignity” which “damages the public’s perception in an irreversible way,” as per the lawsuit.
Rakipi’s counter-lawsuit demands Rama pay him 16,000 euros.
“The aim of his attacks against me is not just to damage my reputation but to close down my show,” Rakipi told journalists outside court on Tuesday.
“This is a political trial against a TV show that has exposed government dealings,” he added.
Last year, Rakipi, through his TV show, reported on how a US-based ghost company managed to win two contracts mounting to almost 30 million euros from the Albanian Road Authority using false documents and the government’s practice of Public Private Partnerships (PPPs), in addition to reporting a number of corruption cases linked to the Socialist government.
As a result of his work, Rakipi also reported by the end of December that he received a number of threats for his life, right after exposing the Great Ring scandal, which saw the publication of forged documents that DH Albania – branch of US Dunwell Habermann – had used to win the government tender for the reconstruction of parts of the road.
The area’s inhabitants have been protesting against the Great Ring project for months now, as its completion foresees the illegal forced eviction lacking proper compensation – another violation of international human rights laws.
Meanwhile, Rakipi’s comments concerning Rama’s attacks on media freedom in the country have been also mirrored by a number of international organizations, such as Reporters Without Borders.
The RWB has conducted studies that show 90 percent of Albania’s media market is owned by a handful of owners, the majority of whom politically-affiliated, while Rama himself has time and time again publicly attacked journalists, calling them “ignorant,” “garbage bins,” “charlatans” and “public enemies.”
The latest in Rama’s series of media attacks was his intention to introduce a law that will force all media portals to register with a government department which will be granted the right to shut down or block the websites it wants based on “fake news” or “defamation” allegations.
This draft law has been currently paused after receiving condemnation by local and international media freedom and human rights organizations.
