Artan Hoxha: Rama used the State Police to serve his own interests; recordings are expected to reveal orders harsher than “show no mercy

Journalist Artan Hoxha, a guest on News24, spoke about the student protests and accused the police of using violence against protesters. He said Prime Minister Edi Rama also directed the response by law enforcement in a way that served his own interests.

Hoxha criticized the involvement of plainclothes officers and the use of unmarked vehicles. He singled out the Shqiponja units, saying they were not properly trained to manage protests and that, in some cases, they had turned clashes with citizens into personal conflicts.

According to the journalist, more protesters were injured than police officers. He added that some of the injured citizens did not seek help at a hospital because they feared the police might take them into custody.

Referring to the prime minister’s conduct, Hoxha claimed that after the first three days, Rama changed his approach and put the State Police at the service of his political interests. He also mentioned a meeting with the prime minister, which he described as shameful, and claimed that the police were given 8 million euros from taxpayers’ money as a reward for their actions.

Hoxha warned that complete recordings of police radio communications would be released, which, he said, contain orders harsher than the phrase “show no mercy,” a fragment of which has already been made public. He also said that some units did not respond to the call.

“There were plainclothes officers and unmarked vehicles. The Shqiponja units in particular, which are not trained to handle protests, used violence and turned clashes into personal conflicts; they massacred anyone they found in the street. They are also trying to use figures to claim that more police officers than citizens were injured, but we know that the injured were mostly citizens, while the police were equipped with helmets. A good number of injured protesters did not go to the hospital for fear of being taken into custody.

“After pulling himself together during the first three days, Rama adopted a different tactic and held that famous meeting, which was deeply shameful. He turned the police into a force serving his own interests, even though it is the Albanian State Police, not Edi Rama’s. The prime minister suddenly transferred 8 million euros from taxpayers’ money and gave it to them as a reward, sending the message that they should keep going and hold their ground because he was behind them and would reward anyone who served him.

“There was definitely pressure. Some units did not respond to the call, and the complete recordings of the communications they made over the radio, which were recorded, will be released. So far, we have seen only one excerpt, in which they said, ‘show no mercy’; you will hear other, even harsher communications. When we found the audio of the January 21 orders, we found these quickly,” Hoxha said.