CoE urges politicians let prosecutors free

TIRANA, Feb. 22 – The Council of Europe on Tuesday urged Albanian political parties to let free the prosecutor’s office conduct the investigation of the Jan. 21 deaths.
The CoE issued Tuesday a special report following the visit to Albania to assess the human rights aspects of the events of 21 January 2011 in Tirana by Thomas Hammarberg, Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights.
Hammarberg, accompanied by two advisers, Marsel Capi and Mehves Bingollu, came to Tirana last week to assess the human rights aspects of events in connection with a demonstration on 21 January during which four demonstrators were shot dead and a number of policemen and demonstrators were injured.
He discussed with the relevant actors what steps were being taken and what could be done to investigate these extremely unfortunate developments. The Commissioner met with the key political and institutional office holders and was struck by the deep political polarization in today’s Albania, said a statement, adding that the descriptions of what had actually happened on 21 January differed greatly between the two political blocs. This fact seems to have made the necessary investigations more complicated.
Everyone should respect the integrity of the General Prosecutor’s Office and avoid negative statements until the results of the investigations are presented.
The General Prosecutor in charge of the investigations had been criticized by government representatives for appearing not to be impartial. However, the Commissioner noted that both political blocs stated that there was no alternative to her investigation and that they would co-operate.
The Commissioner concluded that it is of the utmost importance that the unfortunate events of 21 January be thoroughly investigated and that those responsible for criminal acts be held to account. This will require co-operation with other relevant institutions and not least the Ministry of the Interior.
The international community should stand ready to offer technical and other assistance – if so requested – in order to facilitate the difficult investigations.
The CoE statement said that there are different and conflicting perceptions of what really happened and how the situation evolved and spiraled out of control. Political blocs offer contradicting accounts on the question of who provoked the outbreak of violence – the demonstrators or the police. According to the governmental authorities, the protest was staged by the opposition in order to overthrow the government by force, whereas the opposition maintains that it was the police who provoked the protestors almost immediately after the demonstration began.
It seems clear that a group of demonstrators did commit violent acts against the police and the Guard of the Republic, by throwing stones and using sticks from banners to hit them. Some protesters also burnt cars parked close to the demonstration venue. In response, the police employed a variety of means such as truncheons, water cannons, tear gas and rubber bullets. As a result of violent clashes between demonstrators and police, dozens were injured on both sides.
At a later stage during the demonstration, firearms were used by members of the Guard of the Republic. Four protesters died and several other people’s sustained injuries caused by gunfire, which raises questions about the lawfulness and proportionality of the use of force, the report said.
The report also referred to all detainees who maintained that they had been subjected to ill-treatment during their arrest and during their transfer to the detention facilities. Other elements of violation of a normal treatment were noted. The Commissioner learnt that two detainees visited by the Ombudsman’s Office had signs of ill-treatment on their persons at the time of the visit.
After a demonstration with such extremely negative consequences, it is obvious that a thorough review of training, equipment and strategy for riot control is called for, it said. It should also be stressed that those who organize demonstrations and protest rallies should take steps to prevent violent developments.
The Office of the General Prosecutor is faced with an extraordinarily difficult task.
It has to be recognized that some of the acts committed this day must be regarded as crimes irrespective of the political climate and who started the negative spiral of violence. This is the case of the lethal shootings; the attacks by some demonstrators against the police; and unprovoked police violence during arrests and transport of persons apprehended.
The Commissioner urged Albanian politicians to avoid “unfortunate and highly critical political statements” against the General Prosecutor.