Government
Rama reads out initials of protest detainees: ‘They are not students’; a medical student denies it
The prime minister presented about 45 detainees by initials, ages and criminal records, claiming some were financed by Iran. A medical student included in the list publicly denied it, while Berisha accused Rama of manipulation.
By ANN Newsroom · Newsroom
October 23, 2026, 18:15 · Updated 18:39 · 2 min read
In brief
- Rama published about 45 detainees with initials and records ranging from drugs to murder, saying they are not students.
- According to the prime minister, four of them are suspected of being financed by Iran; the claims have not been independently verified.
- The 20-year-old student J.S. said he has a perfect 10 average and no criminal record.
Prime Minister Edi Rama on Friday read out to the media a list of about 45 people detained by the State Police during the violent protests in Tirana, identified by initials and ages, with their eyes covered. He said they are not students and have no connection to the university, but make up the “criminal component” of the protest.
Among the charges and prior records Rama cited were drug production and dealing, theft, domestic violence, resisting police and unlicensed weapons. He mentioned a 52-year-old with the initials A.LL., who he said served 23 years in prison for premeditated murder, and a 17-year-old who, he said, is neither a pupil nor a student.
The Iran financing claim
Rama claimed four of the detainees, with the initials E.V., M.A., E.LL. and B.P., are suspected of having been financed by Iran. In the morning he had said the escalation was prepared for months and that data on the import of masks and explosives is in the hands of the police. These claims have not been independently verified.
One of the people included in the prime minister's posts, J.S., a 20-year-old medical student, removed his mask in front of cameras at the protest and said he has no criminal record and a perfect 10 grade average. He said police had held him for about seven and a half hours on Tuesday before releasing him.
Berisha: a prosecutor's show
Democratic Party (PD) leader Sali Berisha said Rama appeared as “a spokesman for the prosecution of times past” and had manipulated the figures on the injured. According to Berisha, the ratio of injured protesters to injured police officers is at least 15 to 1, because many of the hurt avoid hospitals for fear of prosecution.
