Police
Ombudsman seeks review of tear gas and water cannon use; Shabani heckled at a café by young people
The institution found nine people held at police stations after the protest, four of them minors; Endrit Shabani says the video was filmed by a “Shqipëria Bëhet” activist.
By ANN Newsroom · Newsroom
November 1, 2026, 18:20 · Updated 19:04 · 2 min read
In brief
- The Ombudsman is calling for a full review of the use of force, including tear gas and water cannon from four special police vehicles.
- Nine detainees, four of them minors, were found at police stations 1 and 3.
- Endrit Shabani was insulted by young people while at a café with his parents.
The Ombudsman on Sunday called for a full review of the use of force by police during Saturday’s protest in Tirana, including tear gas and water cannon, which the institution said were used by four special police vehicles. The review, it said, should assess necessity, legality and proportionality.
Nine detained, four minors
The monitoring team inspected police stations No. 1, 3 and 4 and received information from stations No. 2, 5 and 6, according to ATSH. It found nine detained people, six at Station No. 1 and three at No. 3, four of them minors. Four adults at Station No. 1 said they were passersby who had not taken part in the protest. Two minors were interviewed in the presence of a psychologist and the Child Protection Agency, and their families were notified.
The institution recommended installing an audiovisual system to record interviews, which was missing at Station No. 1, documenting the reasons for each detention, and making officers identifiable at all times with numbers on their uniforms. Anyone who believes their rights were violated is invited to file an individual complaint.
The café incident
In the afternoon, a video circulated online showing young people insulting Ombudsman Endrit Shabani while he was at a café with his parents, saying “You clown, aren’t you ashamed.” According to Top Channel, Shabani said the person who filmed him is Mevlan Mata, an activist of the “Shqipëria Bëhet” party whom he knows from high school. He linked the incident to the debate over a video in which he greeted two lawmakers and said he accepts criticism, but “my elderly parents do not deserve to be dragged into such scenes.”
