FLASH
Shkruar nga Arben Llangozi
In this context, the prosecution is not defending the law; it is creating a climate of fear, self-censorship, and silence, where citizens and the media dare not reveal the truth.
In Albania, some prosecutors are interpreting the law so arbitrarily that any investigative journalist who investigates, denounces, or publishes corruption of state officials has automatically committed the criminal offense of "active corruption."
According to them, the fact that a citizen documents facts and makes them public means that he has committed a criminal offense. This stance is not only absurd, but also a flagrant misuse of the law and the role of the prosecution.
In this case, the citizen who, through the hidden cameras of an investigative journalist, documented corruption, acted with a public and not personal purpose.
He has assisted the prosecution by establishing the criminal offense, has publicly exposed the abuses to serve the public interest, and has proven that he is a victim of the illegal actions of corrupt officials.
In these cases, it is clear that the journalist does not benefit economically from what he investigates, does not receive any illegal benefits and has no personal motive to commit corruption. His goal is to discover the truth, expose phenomena that seriously harm society and criticize state officials. Investigative journalism is a public mission, not a criminal activity. In this context, it is completely absurd to say that the journalist has committed “active corruption”. He acts to discover, not to benefit.
On the other hand, the public official who benefits from corruption has a completely opposite purpose, he acts for personal gain, abusing power and harming the public interest. This is the essence of corruption: the actor's intention and personal gain are key to constituting the criminal offense.
So, a fundamental and inevitable difference, the journalist has a public purpose, the official has a private purpose. And it is precisely this difference in purposes that makes it impossible to turn the investigative journalist into the perpetrator of the criminal offense of "active corruption."
Some prosecutors claim that “there is no passive corruption without active corruption,” but this is a complete and legally unfounded absurdity. In reality, passive corruption can exist on its own, solely from the intention and actions of the official who benefits from the situation. An official can accept bribes, benefit or commit abuses for his personal interests, without the need for someone else to perform an active action to “help” this process.
The Albanian Criminal Code clearly separates active and passive corruption into different provisions, indicating that passive corruption does not need an “active” to accompany it. An official can accept bribes or illegal benefits only from his personal intention and actions, without the need for someone else to perform any active action to help him. Therefore, the prosecution’s claim that “there is no passive corruption without an active” is absurd and legally wrong, while the investigative journalist acts with a public purpose and without personal gain, revealing the truth and not committing criminal offenses.
In this context, the prosecution is not defending the law; it is creating a climate of fear, self-censorship, and silence, where citizens and the media do not dare to reveal the truth. This stance is not only a violation of media freedom, but also a blatant abuse of the concept of justice.
History and international experience clearly show that no power can win the battle against the truth. Free speech can be temporarily suppressed, but it cannot be extinguished. Calling an investigative journalist the perpetrator of the criminal offense of “active corruption” just because he exposes the corruption of officials is legal absurdity and a clear proof of the lack of understanding of the role of journalism in a free society.
Investigation and denunciation are not crimes. They are the tools that keep society honest and power under control. The journalist and the whistleblower act in the public interest, the official abuses for personal gain, and the prosecution should protect the law, not create absurdities to punish the truth. Whoever calls this blackmail is in fact turning justice into a tool to protect arrogance and silence those who dare to speak out.
Ju keni sh te drejte per sa shkruani dhe Ju falenderojme sh per gjithe punen qe beni, por fakti eshte se disa kolege e kane perdorur per perfitim ekonomik shantazhimi, sic ndodh me sh profesione devijimi etik i disave prish opinionin e vleresimin per ta. Por qe dhe keta e kane humbur fillim se punesimet behen nga zyra HR e deputeteve apo partisë, dmth edhe magjistratet