Albanian authorities condemn attack against journalist

04/11/2009

TIRANA, Albania -- Authorities and journalist associations condemned on Tuesday (November 3rd) the beating of journalist and publisher Mero Baze the previous night in Tirana. Prime Minister Sali Berisha issued a statement describing it as "a grave and ugly act; unacceptable for a free society". The US Embassy said "physical attacks on journalists, and other forms of media intimidation, cast a shadow over freedom of the press." The OSCE office in Tirana, opposition parties, and journalist associations urged authorities to find and sentence the culprits. Two other journalists witnessed the attack on Baze in a downtown Tirana bar, believed to be incited by a series of reports accusing oil entrepreneur Rezart Taci of corruption. (Shekulli, VOA, BBC, Top Channel, News 24, Vizion +, Klan - 03/11/09)