TIRANA, April 21 – Albania fell two places in the Reporters Without Borders World Press Index 2020, ending up at the 84th rank.
According to the report, the drop from the 82nd rank in 2019 is linked to a decrease in press freedom and detainment as well as harassment against Albanian journalists – all under the pretext of fighting ‘fake news’. Although Albania surpassed North Macedonia, Serbia and Hungary, it still remains behind several countries including Maldives and Northern Cyprus
The report points out that in 2019, the government stepped up attempts to take control over the media with the excuse of fighting fake news, as in December, the governing majority voted in Parliament the “anti-defamatory” package tightening the regulation of online media. The two laws limit freedoms of expression, information and press and run against international best practice, thus risking of increasing censorship and make journalists more vulnerable vis-à-vis government pressures. Although the package was vetoed by the Albanian president, the laws are again in the Parliament which can overrun the Head of State’s refusal.
As of mid-March, they seem, however, to be put on hold following the criticism by seven press freedom organisations including RSF and the visit of the European Parliament President to Albania. RSF points out that the laws would further deteriorate the situation of press freedom in a country where government regularly restricts access of journalists to official information and controls the TV market via the attribution of broadcast licences.
The index mentions the November 26 earthquake in 2019 which became cause for the government to limit press freedom further; two journalists and an activist were arrested for spreading “fake news” and “causing panic”, while online media critical of government’s action were closed by government bodies. As the coronavirus crisis broke out in March 2020, Prime Minister Edi Rama called on citizens to protect themselves against, among other things, the media.
RSF reports that physical attacks and defamation cases increasingly filed by officials against journalists continue to maintain the climate of insecurity and intimidation, which, combined with the denigrating language of politicians, turns reporters into possible targets of aggression. According to the Index, the authorities of the EU-oriented country fail to resolve and sanction various cases of physical attacks and serious threats against journalists.
Albania has witnessed a serious decrease in media freedom since 2018, as seen through the latest Reporters Without Borders World Press Indexes.
In December of last year, the Albanian Parliament approved two draconian laws as part of the ‘anti-libel’ package, which empower the Albanian Media Authority (AMA) and the Authority of Electronic and Postal Communications to hear complaints about news websites, demand retractions, impose fines of up to 1 million leke and suspend their activity.
Dozens of journalists, representatives of various media organizations, as well as representatives of civil society and political parties protested the ‘anti-libel package’, claiming that the government is setting up censorship institutions and is trying to crack down on free speech.
