Albania’s opposition violently interrupt parliament session after lawmaker is sentenced to prison

Associated Press

TIRANA, Albania (AP) — Albanian opposition lawmakers have violently disrupted a Parliament session to protest the imprisonment of a fellow legislator for alleged slander. On Monday, Conservative Democrats shoved microphones off tables, hurled objects at the seats of the speaker and government ministers, and burnt chairs, saying Ervin Salianji’s prison sentence was politically motivated. In 2018, Salianji demanded the resignation of the Socialist Party’s then-governing interior minister Fatmir Xhafaj after a video circulated alleging his brother was involved in illegal activities. The files and recordings offered turned out to be fabricated. Salianji was accused of slander and last week the appeals court confirmed his sentence of a year in prison.