Last TV Shows Critical of Albanian Govt are Cancelled

Abanian Prime Minister Edi Rama at his party headquarters in June. Photo: Gent Shkullaku/LSA

However, Irfan Hysenbelliu, the owner of News 24, a local station based in Tirana, denied he was pressured by the government, while Rama's office called the allegations "fake news".

'The Unexposed Ones' was a show hosted by Ylli Rakipi, who alleged that the cancellation was result of direct government pressure on the owner.

"The show was closed due to the pressure. There has been always pressure directly by Edi Rama to close down the show," Rakipi told BIRN.

He said that the administration of the channel didn't explain why they were cancelling his show.

Rakipi's show, on which Fatos Lubonja and Andi Bushati, two political commentators well known for criticism of Rama, regularly appeared, last December exposed a major fraud in which a company won a contract for public works using falsified documents, presenting itself as a major US contractor.

Following the report, the government acknowledged that the company was indeed fake while prosecutors started a formal investigation. However, nine months later, no one has been arrested or faced charges.

Since then, Rama had filled two defamation suits against Rakipi, claiming his reputation was damaged by derogatory language used by the TV host in some of his shows.

'Krasta/A Show', which was hosted by Adi Krasta, also known for criticising the government, will be cancelled in September. Krasta declined BIRN's request for a comment.

News 24's owner Hysenbelliu said his decision to cancel the shows was because he was conducting an "internal reform".

"Nobody has dared to pressure me, not this government, nor the previous one," Hysenbelliu said.

"This is the reason why the media...