Just to give you a little update on the situation, after being accused of being a Russian spy/ Russian agent/ being paid by Russia/ working for the Russian state etc a number of things have happened.
Firstly, two international journalism organisations the European Federation of Journalists (representing 320,000 journalists in Europe) and the International Federation of Journalists (the largest journalism organisation in the world) conducted an independent investigation into the allegations made against me. They looked at articles in the public domain including the ones making claims about myself and my partner and they wrote a short report. This was then sent to the Council of Europe who evaluated the report and the links and declared it was an example of “harassment and intimidation of journalists” in Albania.
Following these statements from global journalism orgs, the Council of Albanian Media, comprised of a panel of experts on journalism and journalistic ethics, ruled that Gazeta Tema, Lexo.al, Tiranapost, alpenews, JavaNews, and Gazeta Diaspora had breached a number of journalistic ethics.
According to the published decision they provided misleading and false information not based on fact (a criminal and civil offence), they breached my right to privacy (a human right), incited crime and violence against myself and my partner (a criminal offence), falsely reported on court proceedings and violated the presumption of innocence, amongst other things.
They recommended that all portals should remove all of the articles making these claims against me. You can read the full report in English here, and Albanian here.
Based on these rulings and reports, the evidence I have, the threats I received from some of these portals when I asked them to take down the false information, and the fact that they have breached the law, I am filing a number of lawsuits against them. I will seek removal, retraction, and maximum financial damages- every penny of which I will publicly donate to a selection of local charities.
I am not filing these suits for my benefit alone, but rather for the benefit of every journalist, activist, and critic in this country- whatever side of the political spectrum they are on.
Let me be clear, making a report on facts and evidence that is not only in the public domain but that has been published widely both locally and abroad, does not make me a Russian spy. It means I exercised my democratic and legally enshrined right to freedom of speech and expression, and did my job as a journalist. Don’t like what I said? Fine. But making up lies to try to discredit me, rather than creating structured and valid arguments against the content of my words, is a violation of media freedom.
Printing false and defamatory information and inciting violence against a pregnant woman and her family is legally and morally bankrupt and is the hallmark of charlatan gossip mongers, not journalists.
In addition to this, I am taking further action against following recent allegations in the media that I didn’t submit the right documentation/violated the law/ refused to attend the office/ didn’t follow procedure- again not true.
Not only will I make a complaint based on breach of GDPR and data protection and privacy, but I am filing a complaint based on the fact that they have STILL failed to provide any reasons for revocation in writing- something which is also in breach of the law. They have insisted verbally to us but have refused to provide this in a written format or advice of who overturned the decision. This means that any comments
Just to be clear, whilst I was two days late filing the application, they were notified of my health issues advance and as per Albanian law and immigration regulations, a medical condition and presentation of a certificate is a valid reason for and extension. There is not a country in the world that would not accept haemorrhaging and the threat of miscarriage as a valid medical reason.
I have evidence of correspondence, my attendance at the department, and every instruction they gave me- I am not only in full compliance with Albanian immigration laws, but I am in full compliance with every, single, instruction that was given to me.
In conclusion to it all, I can safely say that I am not backing down. I will not be lied about, intimidated, or succumb to threats and harassment. I have followed the law every step of the way and that will extend to seeing those that have wronged me, defend themselves in court.
No one, regardless of where they are from, who they are, or where they want to go should be treated in this way.
I will not leave Albania, I will not give in to this illegal treatment, I will not stop writing my blog about the beautiful things here, I will not stop my volunteer and charity work, and I will not stop reporting on the injustices I see- ever.
UPDATE
Yesterday a petition was set up to ask the authorities to let me remain here with my family without having to bend to their corruption and
