Revolt in Tirana prison
Prisoners at Unit 313 rebel. Army tanks on the streets of the capital
Tirana Prison was swept last night by a massive revolt of prisoners, which appears to have had serious consequences, although the reports are bloody and have not been fully confirmed. It all began after 9:30 p.m., when the prisoners on the third floor of Unit 313 took several police officers hostage and began violent acts, attempting to escape. Sources at the Ministry of the Interior told “RD” that all police units in Tirana were mobilized last night. The operation to suppress the revolt encountered numerous difficulties because there were few police forces currently in Tirana, as almost all the special forces had been in Shkodër and other hotspots around the country in recent days. The police officers who first arrived at the prison requested reinforcements and were ordered to shoot at the prisoners if they attempted to break out of the perimeter. But reports from Tirana Prison grew increasingly alarming. In less than 30 minutes, the prisoners on the third floor joined those on the second floor and began vandalizing the place, breaking and destroying everything. According to some police sources, the prisoners set fire to the prison premises, and the situation became extremely serious. Meanwhile, residents living near the prison said the entire area had been surrounded by blue uniforms, and that numerous shots had been fired up until midnight. Police cars with sirens and officers with dogs were seen around the prison grounds, which were on alert. Interior Minister Neritan Ceka urgently left Parliament at 9:45 p.m., while the chamber was discussing the removal of PD deputy Azem Hajdari’s immunity. Numerous police cars were seen moving through the streets of Tirana, and around 9:30 p.m. two army tanks traveled from Elbasan Road toward Tirana Prison, creating the impression that the situation was extremely serious. Until midnight, the entire area around Tirana Prison remained cordoned off by police, and frequent gunshots continued to be heard, while reports about what was happening inside Unit 313 were highly contradictory. According to some sources, there had been casualties there, and by midnight there was talk of two prisoners having been killed, although the report had not been fully confirmed. Meanwhile, law-and-order forces were on high alert, and all personnel who were at home at that moment were called in to report for duty. According to Ministry of the Interior sources, traffic police officers had also been ordered to reinforce the forces involved in the operation. There was also a panic-driven effort to reinforce important institutions with police, including police stations themselves, creating the impression that some prisoners might have escaped. In any case, through the early hours of the morning, Tirana Prison remained surrounded by large numbers of police, and gunshots could be heard continuously. There were no accurate reports as to whether the revolt had been suppressed or whether the prisoners had managed to escape, aided by the darkness.
Four police officers are being held hostage. Police sources report two dead. The prisoners take control of the building’s second and third floors, then wreak havoc and set fire to the prison premises. The shooting continues late into the night. of the immunity of PD deputy Azem Hajdari, numerous police cars were seen moving through the streets. He called it a historic disgrace of the gangsters’ parliament. “Although you will strip me of my parliamentary immunity, you will not be able to stop me in my political struggle against you. With your pseudo-political accusations, you will not be able to stop me from continuing to regard you as the parliament of gangs. I will continue the political battle throughout the territory of Albania to cleanse Albanian politics of criminals. With your reign of fear, which you are trying to establish, you cannot frighten me or the Albanians, who have overcome fear once and for all, as they are dragged along the squares of Albania, right in front of you. You will have me here, and I will not leave for a single moment,” declared the leader of the December student movement. “If you claim that you are building a state, then arrest the criminals who, in your name, killed and burned Albania and today walk freely—and even under your protection—through the streets of the cities where they committed their crimes. Put Zani Çaushi on trial, arrest the criminals of Berat, Altin Dardha, and stop targeting your political opponents and opposition deputies. You will not be able to prevent me from showing Albanians, through the facts and recordings I have mentioned to them, your true face and the crimes you committed to come to power. If you think that putting Azem Hajdari in handcuffs will save your compromised heads, then I can tell you that you are mistaken. If you have Kapo and Hoxha and think the time has come to take revenge on the student movement that destroyed their empire of crime, then I tell you again that you are mistaken,” Hajdari continued, after which he left the parliamentary chamber. The Center-Right and the Balli Kombëtar deputy considered the request to strip deputy Hajdari of his immunity a political decision aimed at imprisoning the opposition. Balli leader Selfo warned that, if Azem Hajdari were politically imprisoned, the consequences could be unpredictable. Commenting on the expected decision concerning the PD deputy, Selfo said the event would pave the way for a precedent of crime and political alibis for imprisoning the opposition. The Balli leader said that, after the state had demonstrated its hand in the political assassination attempt against Azem Hajdari, it was now seeking to use Parliament to pave the way for his political imprisonment. “The request to strip Azem Hajdari of his immunity is being made by a group of Stalinists whom he defeated in ’90,” Selfo said. Last night’s parliamentary decision to strip Azem Hajdari, leader of the December student movement, of his immunity is in fact the punishment the current government is meting out to the anti-communist movement in Albania. The other call by a representative of the majority to outlaw the Democratic Party is a warning that the current government is determined to pursue its aim of killing off the Albanian opposition. Bledi KASMI