After the protest in Tirana was dispersed, the police intervention did not stop at removing the crowd from the street. According to reported information, forced detentions of several protesters followed near the steps of the Et’hem Bey Mosque, in the center of the capital.
The intervention shifted into the streets of Tirana
After the gathering ended, police undertook what has been described as a wave of detentions of protesters along several routes in Tirana. The episodes did not remain limited to the area where the protest took place, but extended into other parts of the city center.
This movement by law enforcement appears to have ended the protest sooner than expected, shifting attention from the gathering itself to the manner of the police intervention afterward.
Reports of force at the steps of Et’hem Bey Mosque
According to the same reports, several protesters were forcibly detained on the steps of the Et’hem Bey Mosque in Skanderbeg Square. The area, one of the most sensitive and frequented points in central Tirana, thus became part of the tensions following the protest.
At this stage, there is no complete public information on the exact number of people detained or the specific reasons for each case.
An alleged blow against a protester
During the course of the intervention, it is reported that one officer struck a protester. The situation, according to the published version, did not escalate further after the intervention of other people nearby.
It remains unclear whether there will be an official clarification for this episode, full footage, or an institutional verification of the proportionality of the force used.
Questions over the management of the protest
The incident once again raises questions over the standard by which police manage the phase following the dispersal of protests, when tension often shifts from open confrontation to individual detentions on the ground.
When detentions are reported in crowded public spaces and with the use of force, attention does not remain only on public order, but also on the limits of lawful intervention by the blue uniforms.
So far, there is no full official tally of the number of people detained in this episode near the Et’hem Bey Mosque.
The focus of the incident remains on how the interventions were carried out and the need for full clarification over the use of force against protesters.