TIRANA, April 9 – Tirana police filed criminal charges against 50 protest organizers and participants Thursday, when hundreds of people blocked the main national roads of Vora, Elbasan, Lushnje and Milot.
Among those facing the charges ‘organization and participation in illegal protests and manifestations’, ‘disturbance of public order’ and ‘traffic congestion’ are the opposition’s Democratic Party (DP) leader Lulzim Basha and Socialist Movement for Integration (SMI) leader Monika Kryemadhi, local media has reported.
An official police statement has made the name initials and age of the protesters and organizers who face penal charges public, a big part of which are also other opposition MPs such as Edmond Spaho, Flamur Noka, Nard Ndoka, Arben Ristani, Luam Rama, Viktor Tusha, Shkodra Mayor Voltana Ademi, Kamza Mayor Xhelal Mziu and other municipal opposition representatives.
Eight people were prosecuted for the Vora roundabout protest, 23 for obeying the opposition’s call for civil disobedience in Milot, 12 others for the Elbasan protest and the remaining seven were opposition protest organizers placed in Lushnje.
The police also charged four people with ‘air pollution’ after they set car tires on fire and said it is working on identifying other citizens who acted similarly.
Basha said he felt honored to be prosecuted in line with citizens protesting in favor of their legitimate rights and that he would continue fighting for the eleven arrested Kukes citizens, who are, according to him, being kept unjustly in prison.
He added the criminal charges are a “ridiculous investigative action,” as the prosecution cannot arrest the entire opposition, local media reported.
The opposition’s protests began on Thursday morning, only days after Basha and Kryemadhi called for civil disobedience against Prime Minister Edi Rama’s higher taxes, saying this is just the beginning of a popular reaction to the government’s policies.
Although a statement released by the police on Wednesday said it had not been notified concerning the protest, thus deeming it illegal and stressing the protest’s organizers will face the law for any unpredictable outcome, opposition representatives blocked the country’s main highways for what they called a “legitimate protest.”
Thursday’s protests did not see any violent incidents other than some tires which were set on fire.
