TIRANA, May 22 – Albanian police have refused to grant permission to a protest rally against alleged police brutality that resulted in a man’s death in Korà§a.
Roma and Egyptian community members wanted to protest in front of the Ministry of Interior following the death of 27-year-old Enea Ftoj, who died after being allegedly beaten by police while in custody.
The protest, which was scheduled to begin at 11 a.m. and carry on for approximately three hours, was not given permission to begin in the first place.
“We thought we should protest against this great injustice, the open discrimination that violates the right to life. As the police directorate did not give us permission, we ask the responsible justice bodies to help us in all citizens’ name. We call on the Ministry of Internal Affairs to take measures against the Korà§a police employees that violated Enea Ftoj,” a community representative and protester said.
Enea Ftoj died inside a Korà§a police station cell last week, where he was detained for a violent robbery.
His family members have accused policemen of beating him to death, while investigations to clarify what exactly happened in the police station have reportedly began.
Ftoj’s wife said that in addition to the beatings, policemen were also giving her husband tranquilizers like Diazepam due to his drug use, although she had warned them he was suffering heart conditions.
The official police statement, on the other hand, said no violence was exercised on Ftoj, who was found dead in his cell around 8 a.m. on May 17. According to the police, Ftoj was given Diazepam because he had suffered several anxiety attacks due to his addiction.
He was a heroin user, according to family members.
Meanwhile, other Korà§a citizens belonging to the Roma community said last week that they had suffered police violence to the point they have lost conscience has been previously exercised on them, also on racist grounds.
