TIRANA – A brutal behavior of police against a minor has strongly been condemned by President Ilir Meta who declared on Saturday that such acts damage the image of the State Police in Albania.
“I strongly condemn the unprofessional, disproportionate and violent behavior of some State Police officers towards a juvenile who, according to preliminary reports, was moving after the allowed time due to the restrictive measures taken in the context of the pandemic situation. This extremely grave and punishable act seriously damages the image of the State Police, taking us back to the times of arbitrariness,” said Meta.
A minor was beaten on Friday by some police officers in the suburbs of Albanian Capital Tirana at the place called ‘Lake’s Hills’, who as police said, was moving after the allowed time of the lockdown. A footage circulated on social media shows brutal scenes of the violence against the minor by some police officers which made State Police suspend the police officer G.N. of the Commissariat No. 2 of Tirana. An investigation is underway, said Albanian police institution.
In March 2017, the Albanian Parliament adopted the Criminal Justice for Children Code, which had UNICEF’s technical and financial support, and was considered as an unprecedented legal development and philosophical shift in approaching children’s treatment within the criminal justice system.
President Meta noted that the conduct of any state institution towards juveniles in these difficult times should guarantee their awareness of the importance of restrictive measures and their observance, and not the exercise of police force.
In respect of the great social sensitivity that this event has rightly caused, he called for its immediate and transparent disclosure and the further procrastination of legal responsibilities.
“I call on the State Police to take maximum care during the state of natural disaster in the strict implementation of the law and its mission, and to keep in mind that fundamental human rights and freedoms are guaranteed by the Constitution of the Republic of Albania at all times and must be respected by any authority,” said the President. /argumentum.al
