The government has immediately put into effect the new package on assemblies, a legal intervention that significantly increases fines and expands the powers of the police on the ground. According to the official version, the measures target violence, but the content of the act also directly affects how protests are held, their dispersal and the restriction of access to certain areas.
Fines rise sharply for participation and disobedience
The changes provide for fines from 10,000 to 100,000 lek for participation in banned assemblies, as well as for unlawful concealment of identity. For disobeying police orders to disperse an assembly, fines range from 10,000 to 100,000 lek, while in other cases provided for by law they reach from 20,000 to 200,000 lek.
The heaviest financial penalty is foreseen when the person against whom the dispersal order is issued has a concealed identity. In this case, according to the normative act, the fine ranges from 50,000 to 500,000 lek.
5,000 lek for blocking roads during protests
The act stipulates that blocking motor roads or road axes during an assembly, when it does not constitute a criminal offense, is treated as an administrative violation. The fine is 5,000 lek for each day of blockage, for each person taking part, regardless of how long the blockage lasted during that day.
This means the financial burden falls directly on individual participants, while the imposition of fines is left to the State Police, further strengthening the punitive role of the police in relation to public assemblies.
Police gain broader room for restrictions and removals
According to the changes, the head of the local police directorate, with the approval of the prefect, may ban or restrict assemblies around educational, health or state institutions for up to 72 hours, with the possibility of one renewal. The law requires the decision to clearly specify the perimeter, the time limit and the reasons, while an appeal to the court does not automatically suspend enforcement.
Likewise, a State Police officer may order the removal of a person from so-called protected zones for up to 48 hours when he or she assesses that the person’s behavior constitutes a threat, repeated harassment, violence, property damage or the violent obstruction of access. The order must be issued in writing and contain the concrete facts.
Audiovisual recordings and intervention also on social networks
The package gives the State Police the right to record by audiovisual means warnings for the dispersal of an assembly, as well as acts of violence or property damage during protests. According to the act, these recordings will be stored and processed in accordance with the law on the protection of personal data.
The changes also provide for intervention in cases of calls for violence on social networks, electronic mail or telephone communications. According to the official provision, the police may identify the account or number and request that the holder delete the content and refrain from repeating it.
The normative act was approved on the proposal of the interior minister and entered into force immediately upon publication in the Official Gazette.
Despite the government’s justification of the need to curb violence, the package significantly expands the mechanisms of control over public protest and gives the police more power for restriction, documentation and administrative punishment.