Opinion
Holding the police to account means staying in the room
The interior minister and the police chief should report to Parliament with official figures. The opposition, for its part, should stay until the end of the hearing it asked for.
By ANN Newsroom · Newsroom
October 27, 2026, 18:30 · Updated 18:42 · 2 min read
On Tuesday, two parliamentary committees discussed the same question: how the police have handled the protests of the past two weeks. In the Committee on Human Rights, Jorida Tabaku asked that Interior Minister Ervin Demo and police chief Skënder Hitaj report to lawmakers. Socialist lawmaker Ardit Bido replied that the majority wants the same and that the minister will appear. The two sides rarely agree on a procedure so quickly.
The figures cited by the opposition are serious: about 1,000 young people taken in by police, 250 of them minors, and 47 journalists threatened or intimidated, 43 times by police. These figures have not been confirmed by the institutions. That is exactly why the hearing is needed: an unconfirmed number remains a political accusation, while an official number becomes the basis for accountability.
In the Legal Affairs Committee, Oerd Bylykbashi spoke of disproportionate force, of a protester who lost an eye and of hundreds treated for rubber bullet injuries, and called for an investigation of the entire chain of command. Committee chair Ulsi Manja said violence against the police must be condemned by everyone and that any excess by officers must be investigated. Both statements can be true at the same time. But after the debate the Democratic Party (PD) lawmakers walked out, and the committee carried on without them.
The courts are also giving part of the answer. A Tirana court placed four protesters under house arrest and ordered 16 to report regularly to police, in at least one group more leniently than prosecutors had sought, while many of those arrested have been released with lighter measures. This shows each case is being weighed on its own, as it should be. The same scale should apply to the conduct of every officer.
Our proposal is concrete: Parliament should set, this week, the date of the hearing with Demo and Hitaj, open to the public. The police should bring the official number of people taken in by age, the number injured by rubber bullets and every disciplinary proceeding opened. The opposition should stay until the last question. Accountability needs both sides in the room, not an empty lectern.
