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Albania Oil Tycoon Arrested for Assault
Tirana | 06 November 2009 | Besar Likmeta
Albanian controversial oil magnate Rezart Taci handed himself over to police in Tirana on Thursday, after the local district court ordered his arrest following charges of assault over the beating of local publisher, Mero Baze.
A businessman with close ties to Prime Minister Sali Berisha, Taci viciously assaulted publisher and journalist Mero Baze on Monday evening in Tirana, following a series of reports accusing the businessman of tax evasion.
He is known as one of the Tirana businessman in Prime Minister Berisha’s inner circle. His other company, Taci Oil International has spent millions of euros organising charity football matches, with the proceeds donated to a children’s charity ran by Berisha’s wife.
Baze had ran a series of critical reports on his TV Show, Faktor Plus, on Vizion Plus TV accusing Rezart Taci and his company, the ARMO oil refinery of massive tax evasion.
Apart from the TV show, Baze also publishes the Tirana daily TEMA, a publication very critical of the government.
In a statement to the Commite to Protect Journalists on Thursday Taci denied any wrongdoing.
“I totally deny the allegations that I participated in the brutalities that have caused severe injuries to Mr. Baze. I not only deny my involvement, but I also condemn violence that so often mars our modern society,” he wrote.
The attack, which happened in the presence of two other journalists and other witnesses in Tirana bar, has been condemned by local politicians, diplomats and national and international media organisations.
“The assault of journalist Mero Baze on Monday, in one of the bars of the capital, is a grave and ugly act; unacceptable for a free society,” said Berisha in a statement on Tuesday.
Berisha called on law enforcement authorities to bring the culprits before justice. “Ill-treatment and pressure against journalists its grave and unacceptable for the Albanian government,” the statement added.
The assault was also condemned by the US Embassy in Tirana. “The United States Embassy was appalled by the assault of journalist Mero Baze on November 2,” the embassy said in a statement.
“Physical attacks on journalists and other forms of media intimidation cast a shadow over freedom of the press [and] all forms of pressure and intimidation of the media are unacceptable,” the statement added.
“Such use of violence is intolerable,” Reporters Without Borders said on Thursday. “It shows that certain businessmen who are allied with the government think they are all-powerful and do not have to account for their activities. We hail the universal condemnation this attack has received from the political class and the rapid police response, which suggests there is a will to put an end to impunity.”
“The fact that those involved in this incident are well known should help make people aware of the problem and encourage a debate about the press freedom situation in Albania,” the press freedom organisation added. Source: Balkaninsight
