A complaint made public in the Italian media raises serious questions about safety in central Tirana and about the police response on the ground. Six young Italians claim they were followed, threatened and attacked by a group of youths near Skanderbeg Square, while the official version so far remains limited: police say only that the incident is being verified.
What the Italian tourists claim
According to the complaint published by Italian media, the incident happened several days ago, shortly after the group of young people had arrived in Tirana for a holiday.
One of them said that, after leaving their rented apartment to go out for dinner, they were followed by a group of local youths near Skanderbeg Square. According to the same account, the situation began with provocations and then escalated into physical violence.
Allegations of a knife threat and demand for money
According to the testimony made public, one of the tourists was surrounded and threatened with a knife, while the attackers demanded money from them. The young Italians claim they were then hit with stones, punches and rubber batons.
In their version, the most serious part of the episode came when one member of the group was unable to get away, fell to the ground and was beaten even while lying there. As a result of this episode, one tourist was injured and received medical assistance at the scene.
Police response comes under question
The most sensitive part of the complaint concerns the conduct of the first police officers who, according to the tourists, were near the place where the attack was happening. They claim they asked for help, but the police’s initial response was not appropriate.
According to their account, other officers later arrived in the area, drove the attackers away and called an ambulance. This further raises the question of what actually happened in the first minutes and why there is still no full public clarification from the authorities.
Police: case is being verified, no official details
Sources from Tirana Police said the case is being verified, but without providing further information and without a full official communication on the circumstances, the people involved or the actions taken so far.
The lack of a clear public position leaves open not only the version of events, but also the issue of institutional responsibility in a central area of the capital, where the police presence is supposed to be high.
After the incident, the Italian tourists said they returned to Italy on the first morning flight, cutting short their holiday immediately after their first night in Tirana.
The incident, if confirmed as described in these claims, directly affects not only the safety of visitors, but also the credibility of the institutional response in the most frequented areas of the capital.