Police and bailiffs move to vacate News24 premises; State Advocacy cites expired lease

Police and the bailiff service intervened on Saturday morning at the premises of News24, seeking the vacating of the building that also houses the newsrooms of Balkanweb, Panorama Online and Gazeta Shqiptare. Staff of the “Fokus Media News” group were denied entry, power to the building was cut, and News24’s broadcast signal went off air.

Why is this important: The operation halted a major newsroom’s work and drew immediate reactions from media associations and the opposition, which framed it as a blow to press freedom. The government’s legal arm says the outlet has occupied state-owned property without a valid contract since 2022. While the authorities seem to have the law on their side and the owners of the media group had been notified of the obligation to vacate after having exhausted all legal avenues, the operation suffered from a lack of communication that made it appear as a massive attack on one of the country’s most important media groups.

Context: A few hours after the intervention, the State Advocacy (Avokatura e Shtetit) said in an official notice that the contract allowing News24 to use state premises ended in 2022. It added that, under a Council of Ministers Decision signed on March 12 this year, the buildings where Fokus Group has operated will pass to KAYO, a state company created for the production of weapons.

According to the State Advocacy:

“With the expiry of the contract on 22 May 2022, the Ministry of Finance and Economy officially notified the company with a request to vacate the premises by 25 July 2022. Despite this notice, the subject did not voluntarily hand over the property, but continued to keep it in contravention of the law, initiating court proceedings. Since 2022, the case has been reviewed at all levels of the judiciary – the Court of First Instance, the Court of Appeal and the High Court – and has also included four decisions on precautionary measures. The most recent decision, dated 14 July 2025, issued by the Administrative Court of Appeal, confirmed the obligation for the immediate vacating of the premises.”

Representatives of “Fokus Media News” said the “unprecedented” action directly infringes on the freedom of speech and that there is no final court decision. Media associations likewise condemned the operation as a violation of media freedom.

What else: Opposition leader Sali Berisha accused Prime Minister Edi Rama of attacking the press, stating:

“By brutally cutting the signal of News24 in an act of primitive revenge against this television, Edi Rama seeks to shield himself from impartial news, open debate and well-founded criticisms against him and his narco-government and the courageous investigations of the journalists of this television.”

Opposition representatives also went in person to News24’s premises to express support for the station’s staff, who were prevented from working from Saturday morning.