Environmental activist Lavdosh Ferruni has won the legal battle with the Italian company Renco, which had sued him for defamation.
In 2022, Ferruni published an article where he raised his concerns about the mafia connections of Renco, an Italian company subcontracted for the implementation and construction of the major TAP gas pipeline project in Albania.
He based his argument on a report by the prestigious organization Bakwatch as well as other investigations.
According to the company, Ferruni had made baseless accusations about the company and its connection with the Italian mafia and proven cases of bribery in Africa.
Ferruni is an active voice in the defense of nature and has denounced for a long time the arrival of two floating TECs in Vlora.
The Respublica Center, which has legally represented Ferrun in this trial, states that "the legal action against the activist Ferrunaj is more like a SLAPP lawsuit, a strategic lawsuit against public participation. More than victory in court, they aim to intimidate, consume the time and money of the accused, precisely because they actively participate in raising awareness of debates of public interest".
These types of lawsuits are often used against journalists and activists to silence them.
Ferruni, in a reaction to the media after the decision, says that he was convinced that the decision against him would be innocence. But he thinks that this "intervention of 1 year is an attempt to stop someone who speaks about a terrible cause".
Environmentalists have had a long battle against the ignition of the two floating TECs "Tigri 1" and "Tigri 3".
The two floating thermal power plants in Vlora "Tigri 1" and "Tigri 3" have been sailing in the bay of Vlora for more than a year. without producing energy. Initially, the Minister of Infrastructure and Energy, Belinda Balluku, said that they would start producing energy in January 2023, in order to "save" the country "from the energy crisis", which did not happen. The TECs have not started production yet, but Ferruni says that if they start producing it will "be an environmental massacre".
A group of citizens and environmental organizations have submitted a lawsuit against the Vlora Floating Thermal Power Plant.
They demand the annulment of the lease agreement floating thermal power plants installed at the fishing port in Vlora, brought from Bangladesh to produce energy by burning heavy oil.
He completed master's studies in Investigative Journalism at the Department of Journalism at the University of Tirana. She has been working as a journalist for five years, where she previously covered issues of politics and parliamentary activity, in print and online media. She is currently a journalist at Citizens.al, where she covers various social issues related to the transparency of institutions. At Citizens.al, she leads the podcast "The Unheard" and is engaged as a manager of projects related to the support of investigative journalism.
