TIRANA, Dec. 6, 2022 – Albania’s former prime minister and president, Sali Berisha, was physically attacked Tuesday as he and other opposition leaders walked to a protest rally against the government.
Police have arrested 31-year-old Gerti Shehu after he lunged at Berisha, in a flash, punching him in the face before the bodyguards could intervene.
Berisha’s face was bloodied and the punch left a mark, but the 78-year-old refused to stop his march to the rally where he held the keynote speech.
Shehu was immediately surrounded by Berisha’s supporters who landed a few punches on him before the professional security guards detained him, escorted him out of the crowd and handed him over to police.
Berisha said at the rally that the attacker “was used by the people in power.” He later accused the prime minister, the minister of interior and a senior police official of being behind the attack. He said they had used a mentally unstable confidential informant of police to attack him.
Police issued a statement saying the man had a previous criminal record, while the family said the man was mentally unstable and had been taking medication to deal with a mental illness. A letter from a doctor backing the family was shown to the media.
The attack on Berisha was condemned by the country’s top leaders and international representatives in Tirana.
The opposition rally aimed to draw attention to what the opposition says is growing authoritarianism, corruption and anti-democratic governance in Albania on the day that leaders from 27 EU member states were in Tirana to attend a summit with Western Balkan leaders.
