19-year-old from Dibra arrested on suspicion of smashing Constitutional Court windows during protest

Tirana police on Friday arrested a 19-year-old suspected of damaging the Constitutional Court building during a protest held in the capital the day before. According to the police statement, the young man, identified by the initials O.C. and a resident of Dibra, was caught in the act.

The Constitutional Court windows

He is suspected of breaking the windows of the Constitutional Court building with hard objects. Along with him, police charged five other people without arrest, suspected of unlawful acts during the same gathering. Their identities were not made public.

The charges

The case files were sent to prosecutors for the offenses of “destruction of property,” “organizing and taking part in unlawful gatherings and demonstrations,” “disturbing public order,” “obstructing the movement of vehicles,” “resisting a public order police officer” and “breaching rules on explosive and flammable materials.”

The arrest follows the Oct. 29 protest, the day Parliament passed the Bank of Albania law amid tensions in the chamber and students again gathered in front of the Ministry of Education. The student protests in Tirana have entered their third week, with demands for Prime Minister Edi Rama to resign.

Earlier arrests

On Oct. 28, police had arrested two people after the protest at the Ministry of Education, suspected of setting a trash bin on fire and blocking the road, while the anti-terrorism unit arrested a 33-year-old for bomb threats and sent 17 others to prosecutors for calls to violence. The same day, the government approved fines of up to 500,000 lek for protesters with covered faces and a register of suspects.