from Isiah Tsaousidou, AEJ President. Athens, June 1, 2024
The AEJ International strongly condemns the violent verbal attacks towards Arbër Hitaj, a Journalist and President of the Albanian Section of AEJ, from a spokesperson of the Re-establishment political party.
AEJ International is against any form of violence and harassment towards journalists and people working in the media and strongly condemns these attacks on Arbër Hitaj and his family members, only because he has made the right statement.
It is unacceptable for a country which wants to become a member of the European Union that journalists are bullied, that their lives are in danger and that they and their family members receive threats from politicians.
Enough is enough.
AEJ International will publicize all incidents of violence and will become a lever of pressure in Albanian politics, both government and opposition to respect freedom of the Press and human rights. Without them, democracy cannot function in a country.
We stand by the Albanian Section and its President and we support them fully against any attempts to silence silencing journalists in Albania.
We unequivocally condemn any attempts to silence journalists and the media in any country.
The AEJ believes that journalists must be able to freely express their opinions and be protected from violence or authoritative regimes.
There is no excuse for using violence against representatives of the Press. Freedom of the Press is constitutionally protected in liberal democracies. We will be publicizing any developments in the case of Arbër Hitaj to support freedom of the Press in Albania.
- Latest: Alert posted June 6, 2024 on CoE Safety of Journalists Platform
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