Government: fines of up to 500,000 lek for masked protesters and a register of those investigated for violence

The Council of Ministers on Wednesday approved a package of normative acts in response to the violent protests in Tirana, ATSH (the Albanian Telegraphic Agency) reported. The changes cover the law on assemblies, the collection of data on suspects and damage caused to businesses.

The new fines

Taking part in a banned gathering or disobeying an order to disperse carries a fine of 10,000 to 100,000 lek, while for a person whose face is covered the fine ranges from 50,000 to 500,000 lek. Blocking roads is fined at 5,000 lek per day for each participant. Covering the face is not penalized when justified on health, religious or professional grounds, including for journalists. The head of the local police, with the prefect's approval, may ban or restrict gatherings for up to 72 hours around schools, health facilities and state institutions when there is a real and imminent risk of violence; the decision can be appealed to the Administrative Court, which rules within 48 hours.

The register and the border

The State Police General Directorate will run an electronic register of people referred to prosecutors or under investigation for violent offenses during gatherings. The Border Police may refuse them exit from the country, case by case, when there is concrete evidence of involvement in violence, even without a court order. The data are deleted if prosecutors do not open proceedings or close the case.

Damage to businesses

Another act provides full compensation for material damage to businesses with annual turnover of up to 14 million lek that were hit by violence during the gatherings of Oct. 13–22. Claims are filed with the tax administration, verified by the police and paid by the Ministry of Economy, which may then seek the money from those responsible through the State Advocacy.