Albania: CFWIJ Condemns The Physical Assault On TV Journalist Besarta Demushi
Location: Albania, Tirana
Date: December 16, 2021
The Coalition For Women In Journalism condemns the physical assault against Albanian journalist Besarta Demushi while working and calls on state authorities for the perpetrators to be brought to justice. We are concerned for the safety of women journalists in Albania as more cases of violence are reported.
Video footage shows journalist Besarta Demushi being physically assaulted by two men while working on a story for Fax News TV.
On Tuesday, Albanian journalist Besarta Demushi was physically assaulted by two men while attempting to conduct her work in Tirana.
The journalist is obstructed, kicked and hit by those two men. Demushi was working on a case reported by a woman who owned a shop on Hoxha Tahsim Street. Fatbardha Marina turned to Fax News after not receiving any support from police regarding a property matter.
Exit News reported that she claimed the builders had developed her home but refused to abide by their part of the deal, leaving her out of pocket. When Besarta arrived on the scene she faced violence by the developer and his brother in law. They temporarily blocked Besarta inside the building and then grabbed her, hit her and kicked her.
The two men are reported to have been arrested.
Women journalists are facing difficulties in reporting in Albania by often being attacked.
Last case took place on November when journalist Anila Hoxha and her cameraman were almost killed when a police officer, who has since been dismissed, pushed them into an abyss as they approached prominent businessman Ruzhdi Hoxha’s murder site. Anila and her cameraman were reporting on the murder investigation and were at the site on Dajti mountain, where Ruzhdi Hoxha’s body was found. A video shared on the internet showed a police officer pushing the journalist and the cameraman in order to prevent them from filming the ongoing investigation. Anila and her cameraman fortunately managed to escape death and were pulled up from the edge by others on site. The abusive police officer was dismissed after the attack was widely criticized.
Exit News reported that this is the first occasion for this the police have managed to file charges for a crime against a media worker.
CFWIJ calls for a safe environment for women journalists in Albania while it is seriously concerned with the increase of the number of cases reported.
The CFWIJ strongly condemns the police brutality against journalists. We demand the immediate return of the press cards seized from the security forces. Policies to intimidate journalists should be abandoned, and journalism should be practiced under the criteria of freedom of the press.
If you have been harassed or abused in any way, and please report the incident by using the following form.