We met with journalists; editors-in-chief; representatives of civil society, international organisations and foreign embassies present in Tirana; and senior government officials, including Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama. The mayor of Tirana, Erion Veliaj, refused to meet with the delegation. We appreciated the possibility to meet with a wide range of stakeholders who provided insight on the press freedom situation in Albania.
The delegation found that press freedom in Albania is deteriorating. Recent physical attacks against journalists have gone unresolved. Top public officials regularly use language that belittles and smears critical journalists. The public administration, including the office of the prime minister and the mayor of Tirana, are not transparent in their interactions with the media and restrict access to critical journalists. Recently proposed media-related legislation, including a draconian regulation scheme for Albanian and foreign online media outlets, is not in line with international human rights standards.
We are concerned that Albania, a democracy, a member State of the Council of Europe and the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE), and a candidate country for the European Union, is not living up to its obligations to guarantee and safeguard freedom of expression and press freedom as required under Albanian law and international instruments including the European Convention on Human Rights.
1. Proposed amendments on media regulation
The coalition is deeply concerned by the Albanian government’s December 2018 proposed amendments to the country’s media legislation which would introduce mandatory registration requirements for online media and create an administrative body with the power to fine and shut down online media and block foreign online media without a court order. We consider that these measures attempt to introduce state regulation of online media, which is contrary to international best practices on self-regulation and would have a detrimental impact on freedom of expression and information and press freedom in Albania.
In our meeting with the prime minister, he informed us that a new updated draft of the amendments will shortly be made public following international criticism. He stated that in the next draft of the law, the possibility of shutdowns will be eliminated and fines will be much lower than provided for in the first draft. We welcome these changes and recall international human rights standards that “states should not impose mandatory registration to online media as a precondition for their work as this can have a very negative effect on media freedom.” The government should ensure that this legislation is fully in line with OSCE, Council of Europe and EU best practice.
We are also concerned about the ongoing lack of transparency regarding consultation on the draft law, which was introduced over the Christmas holiday period and given an extremely short consultation period. We urge the government of Albania to ensure that a meaningful consultation process with journalists and civil society is undertaken with the next draft of the amendments.
2. Defamation
The delegation expressed concern about what journalists described as a rising number of politically motivated defamation cases against journalists filed by politicians, often requesting disproportionate sums in damages. Such claims can have a serious chilling effect on journalists. The delegation notes positive reports that Albanian courts increasingly apply European Court of Human Rights standards to defamation cases.
Although prison sentences for defamation were repealed in 2012, defamation and insult remain criminal offences punished by a criminal fine, and recent years have seen proposals to reintroduce criminal laws against defaming top state officials. Even without the threat of jail sentences, the potential of facing a criminal conviction for their work can lead journalists to practice self-censorship. We strongly recommend Albania to fully repeal all criminal defamation and insult laws.
For his part, Prime Minister Rama committed to considering the possibility of fully repealing criminal defamation laws. He said he personally would not use criminal law against journalists but would continue to bring civil defamation cases against journalists in “extreme” cases.
3. Safety of journalists: threats, attacks and self-censorship
The delegation was informed during its interviews with stakeholders that various cases of physical attacks and serious threats against journalists in relation to their reporting remain unresolved by authorities. Recently, journalists were injured during anti-government protests. Investigative journalists have been harassed or fired because of their reporting, in some cases following suspected intervention of ruling party politicians. In some cases, journalists decide to not report threats and attacks to relevant authorities and not to inform the public. In addition, there are cases in which journalists revoke charges against their suspected perpetrators out of fear of further reprisals. The delegation was informed that authorities did not fully follow up on cases, and did not investigate the motives behind the threats and attacks. We are concerned that authorities fail to fully investigate the threats and attacks against journalists, thus contributing to an atmosphere of impunity, which might embolden perpetrators to commit similar attacks and intimidate journalists into silence. We are also concerned that authorities fail to ensure the safety of journalists covering protests.
4. Smear campaigns against journalists
During meetings with journalists, the delegation was informed that Prime Minister Rama constantly refers to them as “trash bins” (“kazan” in Albanian). Likewise, the leader of the opposition, Lulzim Basha, refers to media as “captured and bought”. Such language denigrates journalists and makes them appear to be a legitimate target for aggression in the eyes of the public, increasing the risk of threats or violence against them. The journalists we met with stated that when Prime Minister Rama calls them “kazan”, this results in immediate online harassment against journalists from members of the public using the same wording of the prime minister and sometimes even harsher language and threats. We are alarmed by such smears and propaganda-like language used by political leaders and other politicians against journalists. The delegation raised this with Prime Minister Rama, who defended his use of language but committed not to call journalists trash bins (“kazan”) in the future.
5. Transparency of institutions - access to information/press conferences