A defamatory online article on Monday lynched the head of an independent media study and advocacy center in Albania, sparking reactions from local and foreign associations.
The head of the "Science and Innovation for Development" (SCiDEV) center, Blerjana Bino, was the focus of an insulting and derogatory article about her work. The article anonymous, threw serious insinuations without facts according to which Bino and SCiDEV unilaterally compiled a report on media freedom in Albania.
Reporti, compiled by SCiDEV and the Observatory of the Balkans and Caucasus Transeurope (OBCT), raised as a concern the increase in attacks and lawsuits against journalists.
"This report specifically mentions the attacks by politicians and representatives, both of the government and the opposition, against the media. We and the network always react to attacks on journalists and anti-media discourse. This [attack] on the report, why this report provoked such aggressiveness, I don't know,” Bino told Citizens.al.
Bino said that this attack on her and the SCiDEV center is a phenomenon for which she has raised her voice since 2019.
"In every report, at least since 2019, that we issue about media freedom and the safety of journalists, that is, coordinated attacks with campaigns of denigration and lynching against independent voices are done in order to scare us, intimidate us and keep us silent,” Bino continued.
The lynching of Blerjana Bino and the work of SCiDEV was done in parallel with another lynching of another independent organization that supports and advocates for a more ethical media environment in Albania, such as the "Albanian Media Council" (KSHM), which is run by Coloreto Cukali.
In the case of KSHM lynch articless tagged leader Cukali, associates and supporters of his work for the fact that the Council is leading a campaign to address the problem of articles in ethical violation.
The case concerns an article published during the month of September in the newspaper SOT, complained to KSHM for lack of ethics by the party mentioned in the article. But faced with mediation to revise or remove the article, the newspaper in question chose one hostile attitude to the Council.
This position of the newspaper followed in parallel with another derogatory article from the same portal that also lynched the leader of SCiDEV, Blerjana Binon, on Monday.
KSHM called these articles "filled with SLANDER” and “direct attacks against the process vand regulatory".
The derogatory articles were published on "Prapaskena.com", a portal without authors, which presents itself as an "initiative of independent journalists" who tell "truths for the public interest".
This is not the first time that media activists or journalists critical of the government have faced coordinated defamation attacks.
The last case, from the same portal, was against the journalist Hello Xama. Bino and the "SCiDEV" center supported Xama by mobilizing regional and European mechanisms for solidarity response.
Loud reactions from organizations and people engaged in protecting journalists openly condemned the attacks on Bino on Monday.
The Secretary General of the European Federation of Journalists Ricardo Gutiérrez condemned the lynchings while expressing support.
"Our full support goes to the excellent colleague Blerjana Bino (SCiDEV), who has been documenting Press Freedom violations in the Balkans with great content and objectivity for years. The disgusting attacks on her by Albanian propagandists, who spend their time disinforming, show the importance of her work,” – tha Gutiérrez.
Association of Journalists of Albania (AGSH) awnvariety se "attacks jsides motivated exclusively by the hard work of the organizations in question documenting, reporting and reacting to attacks on media and journalists".
The head of the Association of Journalists of Kosovo, Getoarba Mulliqi, has also condemned the attacks on Bino.
"It never ceases to surprise me that some 'media' in Albania attack their colleagues without hesitation, and are even among the loudest in denigrating campaigns against other media and colleagues" Mulliqi said through one posting.
Flutura Kusar from the European Center for Press and Media Freedom, an active voice in the protection of journalists in Kosovo and Albania, has also reacted.
"The attacks against her are baseless and aim to discourage her from the fantastic work she is doing in Albania". Kusari said through one REACTION on Facebook.
Attacks on journalists are increasing year after year, according to the SCiDEV report, during the past year, until July 2024, 43 lawsuits against journalists or media workers were reported, where 38 of them were registered in the Court of Tirana.
At the same time, during this period, there were 28 cases in the Appeal and two more in the Supreme Court.
In 2023, the Safe Journalists Network documented 24 cases of attacks against journalists and media professionals, 9 of which were direct attacks on some journalists or groups of media professionals.
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.
