Lurid, family crimes dominate media coverage

TIRANA, April 2 – Pedophilia cases, incest, blood feud crimes, children traffic have been the dominating news in the Albanian media in the last week, following a trend of a larger focus on such crimes, which have placed authorities under pressure to toughen penalties.
All TV, radio stations and newspapers have reported at length the arrest of a 19-year-old student from the northeastern area who has allegedly claimed he has tried to kidnap an 8-year-old boy in order to traffic him abroad. Police managed to find the kid last Friday.
Immediately following the news, the mother of another lost 6-year-old child in the same commune asking authorities to press the student and show if he has also trafficked her daughter three years ago. Following that police have questioned the kid’s aunt who was last to be seen accompanying the girl. She was let free after the questioning but there came out many questions following that.
The student has allegedly acknowledged the crime for the 8-year old child, adding he would take him to Kosovo, where he had studied, and then traffic him.
In another case a father in northwest Lezha district shot dead his 19-year old daughter who had left her house for two or three days without telling anyone. The father considered that a big shame and shot her dead. The young woman was married but then divorced a year ago.
Another case speaks of a 16-year-old daughter in northeastern Tropoja who has accused her father of incest when she was 13. The father and step mother say she is lying.