Journalist recounts pressure to alter January 21 testimony

In an interview with Report TV, journalist Fatos Mahmutaj shared details of the pressure he faced after being wounded during the January 21, 2011, protests in Albania. Mahmutaj, injured while working far from the clashes, revealed attempts by state officials to coerce him into supporting a manipulated version of events.

Why is this important: Mahmutaj’s testimony sheds light on the systematic efforts by the government of then-Prime Minister Sali Berisha to distort the narrative surrounding the protests, in which four people were killed, shot by the Guard of the Republic. His account provides further evidence of attempts to evade accountability for state violence on that tragic day.

What did he say: Mahmutaj described visiting forensic medicine for an assessment of his gunshot wound to the hand, only to be pressured into agreeing that he had been injured by protesters. “The chief of forensic medicine asked if I had been hit up close by a knife, umbrella, or hammer—things that had nothing to do with the truth,” Mahmutaj recounted.

The journalist immediately contacted a deputy prosecutor, rejecting the coercion and refusing to negotiate, accept bribes, or participate in any cover-up. “From the start, I made it clear that I would not allow my case to be manipulated,” he said.

Context: The Berisha government’s narrative sought to blame protesters for the deaths, claiming small-caliber weapons fired at close range were responsible. He also claimed that protestors had been armed with guns disguised as pens or ombrellas and had hit other protestors in order to foment violence. Mahmutaj’s account corroborates long-standing allegations that the state apparatus actively tried to obscure its role in the violence.

Mahmutaj, now living in exile after seeking political asylum, has consistently spoken out about the events of January 21. His testimony is a critical reminder of the dangers journalists face and the lengths to which some governments will go to suppress the truth.