A recognized human rights organization has denounced that the Albanian Police are showing clear signs of brutality in containing the protests that, for weeks, have been demanding the halting of a tourism project promoted by Jared Kushner, son-in-law of United States President Donald Trump, on the island of Sazan, a protected enclave in the south of the country.
Without ceasing to point out the presence of certain "violent elements" largely alien to the bulk of the protesters, the Albanian Helsinki Committee (CHA) has particularly censured the police operation deployed during the protest last Thursday, July 2, in front of the national Parliament.
The gathering ended with at least 18 people arrested and nine police officers injured in clashes that broke the, until then, predominantly peaceful nature of these mobilizations. The Albanian Association of Journalists indicated that numerous reporters, photographers, and camera operators reported aggressions from both agents and protesters.
According to the NGO's account, first the Police launched tear gas without offering a reasonable warning period for the crowd to disperse voluntarily and, subsequently, several officers beat people who were already immobilized on the ground and who, therefore, "did not represent any threat," according to the Committee officials present during the incidents in Tirana.
In light of these events, the CHA urges the Prosecutor's Office of the Tirana Court of First Instance and the Police Oversight Agency to investigate "quickly, impartially, and effectively any complaint of illegal or disproportionate use of force against the protesters."
Likewise, it calls on the Police for the use of force in future protests to "be preceded by communication, clear warning, and sufficient time for voluntary implementation, except in cases of real and immediate danger."
Finally, the Committee appeals to the organizers and attendees of the mobilizations to "clearly distance themselves from any act of violence and contribute to the isolation of individuals who violate the peaceful nature of the gathering."