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RSF report: Albania drops 3 places in ranking, journalists face fear and pressure from politics and crime

2026-04-30 12:17:11Aktualitet SHKRUAR NGA REDAKSIA VOX
RSF report: Albania drops 3 places in ranking, journalists face fear and
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Albania has taken another step backwards in Reporters Without Borders' (RSF) annual press freedom report, losing three places and ranking 83rd out of 180 countries in the index.

This decline comes after a significant improvement a year ago, when Albania ranked 80th, from 99th in 2024. In the region, our country is positioned behind North Macedonia and immediately ahead of Kosovo (84) and Greece (86).

The RSF report notes that the media environment in Albania suffers from structural problems and a harmful combination of political and economic interests.

"In Albania, press freedom and media independence are threatened by conflicts of interest between the business and political worlds, a weak legal framework, and party regulation. Journalists are victims of acts of intimidation by politicians and organized crime," the RSF report states.

The report notes that journalists critical of the authorities are often the target of attacks aimed at discrediting them, both by the government and the opposition. The report also highlights violence against journalists during protests and notes that the threat from organized crime is the greatest. The report also highlighted the government's blocking of TikTok and the Constitutional Court's decision that found this to be a violation of freedom of expression.

Albania's decline in this index has brought reactions from journalist organizations. The Association of Journalists of Albania (AGSH) views the deterioration with deep concern, emphasizing that it confirms the issues continuously raised by the organization.

"AGSH considers the findings on political pressure on journalists, difficulties in accessing public information, and attempts to discredit critical journalists to be particularly worrying," the organization said in a statement after the publication of the index.

According to AGSH, "the intertwining of interests between politics and business, the lack of transparency in media financing, and political pressure on editorial offices continue to undermine editorial freedom."

In line with AGSH, Blerjana Bino from the Safe Journalists Albania Network notes that this development demonstrates an "unsustainable progress and ongoing structural challenges in the media environment."

Bino emphasizes that “organized crime constitutes one of the most serious threats to security, creating a climate that directly affects the way issues of public interest are reported.” She emphasizes that change requires real implementation of standards and increased accountability.

There was also a reaction from the opposition. Democratic Party MP Jorida Tabaku considers this decline as a sign of the country's slide towards "an electoral autocracy."

"The decline in the media freedom index is no coincidence. In just one year, Albania has lost another 3 places, confirming a continuous trend of deterioration. In a decade, the decline is dramatic," says Tabaku, who also mentions in her reaction the attacks on journalists in the country, including the burning of Sami Curri's car in Bulqiza just a few days earlier. A case for which the authorities still have no answer.

She emphasizes that advertising and public funds are being used “as an instrument of control, not as a support for information.” Tabaku also recalls attacks on media and journalists, and warns that political interference remains high. In response to the situation, she mentioned that the Democratic Party has proposed “changes to the Criminal Code to ensure that legislation does not infringe on freedom of expression” and “amendments to decriminalize defamation.”

Beyond Albania, this year's RSF report paints a rather bleak picture globally. "For the first time in the history of Reporters Without Borders' (RSF) World Press Freedom Index, in over half of the countries in the world, press freedom falls into the 'difficult' or 'very serious' categories," the report says.

The report highlights the increasing restrictions on information and emphasizes that this year's decline is the largest in the last 25 years of the index. " The Index's legal indicator has marked the largest decline over the past year, a clear sign that journalism is increasingly criminalized around the world, " it says, among other things, about the state of media freedom in the world/  reporter.al


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