After the killing of the 25-year-old Klodian Rasha by the police, and following two days of escalating protests all across the country, Sandër Lleshaj resigned from his post as the Minister of the Interior. It was the Prime Minister Edi Rama who broke the news, in parallel with the escalation of the protests in the city center of Tirana. Rama delivered the news of Lleshaj’s resignation while giving for the first time a speech regarding the killing of Rasha, which he considered “a tragedy for the family and a shocking news for the whole society”. The news did not stop the demonstrators to continue asking justice for Rasha, and to protests against what they perceive as systemic violence from the State Police.
Throughout the night the protesters clashed with the police in various locations in Tirana, such as in front of the Prime Minister office, the Municipality of Tirana, and in front of various Ministry buildings, by throwing stones and other objects against the police, and by putting on fire the trash bins. The police responded by using tear gas against the protesters, and by building up cordons across the Prime Minister building.
The killing of Klodian Rasha, the 25-year-old who got shot by a police officer during the curfew hours in 8th of December, has been surrounded by contradictory claims by the State Police. According to an initial report by the Police, the police officers “have called him to stop, but the person did not obey to the Police order to stop. Even after repeated calls made by the Police Officer to stop, he did not stop and ran away pointing at the police officer a seemingly firearm. Found in these conditions, and in the absence of full light, the police officer shot with a firearm, and as a result, the citizen K.R, 25 years old, was injured and lost his life in the hospital.” A second statement by the police concluded that they had found a pistol, 100 meters away from the place where Rasha was shoot, which apparently was the one Rasha used to threaten the police.
On a final version, the Police stated that Rasha confronted the police while trying to escape from him, and only after the police officer realized that he could not get Rasha, he shot against him. They added also that the police officer involved in the killing was arrested after a preliminary investigation made by the Ministry of Interior, for the criminal offence “Murder committed in excess of the limits of necessary protection.” According to local experts, the police is making another crime by trying to incriminate Rasha by manipulating the story. The former Prime Minister of Albania Sali Berisha accused directly the police for throwing an outside gun in the crime place to cover up their violence. Two days after the expertise showed that it was impossible to identify the fingerprint on the weapon, because it was found in a rain pond, excluding therefore for the moment the possibility that the weapon belong to Rasha.
Meanwhile, protests were organized all across Albania. In Lezha, the protesters blocked the highway to Tirana, while in Korça the protesters throw stones against the City Municipality building. Other protesters demonstrated against the killing in Berat, Shkodër, and even in other cities outside Albania, such as in London.
