TIRANA, Dec. 21 – Police have filed criminal charges against ten opposition lawmakers this week after violence broke out inside and outside the parliament while the temporary chief prosecutor was being appointed.
A number of protesters had already been arrested, while the lawmakers who threw smoke grenades or acted violently will face charges without being detained, police said.
Among the lawmakers facing charges are six Democratic Party lawmakers, one of which is the deputy speaker of parliament, Edi Paloka, and four others from the Socialist Movement for Integration, including the party’s leader, Monika Kryemadhi.
Three lawmakers are accused of disturbing peace in relation with the use of smoke grenades during the parliamentary session, and the others for clashing with the police, when they joined the protesters’ crowd outside of the parliament.
The head of the opposition, Lulzim Basha, reaffirmed his stance in light of these developments, saying that “the only act of violence that was committed in parliament was the constitutional violation by the majority.”
Several of the lawmakers involved in the clashes were also expelled from parliament for up to 10 days, a decision taken by the disciplinary bureau headed by Speaker of Parliament Gramoz Ruci .
The disciplinary hearing was held behind closed doors and no media was allowed.
Leaked footage showed Kryemadhi, one of those expelled, reading the oath lawmakers take when they first arrive in parliament.
“I took an oath to serve the country,” Kryemadhi said. “Not the narco-state.”
