US State Department: Media under pressure
08/04/2011 20:00
Convict benefited from criminal amnesty, but a day after the release youngster in Pogradec is arrested for the next theft 25/04 21:23
US Department of State published the 2010 human rights report. The 25 pages document referred to Albania mentioning the Parliamentary Elections 2009, which, according to OSCE, were better than the previous elections, but didn’t achieve the standards.
Although the Socialist Party voted for the election certification as legal and conclusive, this political subject boycotted parliament after September, calling for an investigation into alleged electoral fraud. The boycott continued till the end of the year.
The report says that the Police beats and mistreats their suspects during questioning and imprisonment. Corruption and impunity goes on.
Government corruption remained a serious and unresolved problem. Discrimination against women, children and homosexual persons were problems. Trafficking in persons also remained a problem.
As for the media, the report writes that media were active and largely unrestrained, but there have been direct and indirect pressures against them, including threatens against journalists.
The document mentions Top-Channel’s role through the investigative program “Fiks Fare” that caused the dismissal and the opening of a criminal law suit against corrupted public officials. The report also focuses at the case of former Minister of Culture, Ylli Pango, accused of sexual abuse.
On June 18th, Court of Tirana heard the law suit that Pango opened against Top Channel, and decided to punish Top Channel with 500,000 dollars for moral damages against the Former Minister and for causing him angst and desperation.
Top Channel appealed the court’s decision and the case still remains in abeyance. The report also mentions the case of Top-Channel’s premises lease contract; the postponement of the Council of Ministers decision on 2006 to break the 20 year old lease with this private television, critical to the government, and the government’s order to vacate the state-owned building.
The government agreed to allow Top Channel to move to another state-owned office building.
Despite this order, Top Channel said that the owner of the new building was not allowing them to transfer and keep doing their job.
On March, Court of Appeal returned this case for retrial at the Court of Tirana. This case is still under process, says the report.
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