On May 2, Democratic Party leader Sali Berisha publicly attacked the television channel News24, the news portal BalkanWeb, the newspaper Panorama and media owner Irfan Hysenbelliu, labelling the outlets as “mafia of free speech” and accusing the newsrooms of operating on instructions from the Office of the Prime Minister.

The remarks were made during Berisha’s weekly communication with supporters and were prompted by the outlet’s coverage of Ervin Salianji, a Democratic Party figure who had submitted his candidacy for party leadership. Berisha objected to the volume of coverage given to Salianji, claiming the television had “adopted” him and broadcast “16 news items in four hours.” He further claimed that Hysenbelliu was personally directing this coverage in order to repair his relationship with Prime Minister Edi Rama.

By using terms such as “mafia of free speech,” “unscrupulous mafia” and “shameful mafia,” Berisha moved beyond criticism of coverage into language that delegitimizes the outlets and portrays editorial decisions as politically directed or criminalized activity. The issue is not that a political leader contested media coverage. The issue is that the language used reframes journalism as an instrument of political betrayal and places reporters working for the named outlets under suspicion before their reporting is assessed on its merits. In a polarized environment, such rhetoric can expose journalists and editorial offices to further hostility from political supporters who take this framing at face value.

Separately, Focus Media Group was affected by a serious media freedom incident in 2025, when state authorities surrounded the premises where News24, BalkanWeb, Panorama and Gazeta Shqiptare operate, journalists were blocked from entering their newsrooms, and News24’s broadcasting was interrupted. The May 2 remarks add a further layer of pressure around the same newsrooms from a different political direction.

Over the past two years, SafeJournalists has documented hostile rhetoric against media from political actors across the Albanian spectrum: from Prime Minister Edi Rama, who has described critical media and political voices as “Kingdom of Liars,” “Freedom of Slander”, “swamp”, and “tenxhere,”* and who in March 2026 publicly accused two media outlets of money laundering and fiscal evasion without presenting evidence; from Tirana Mayor Erion Veliaj, who referred to journalists covering his arrest in February 2025 as “dogs” and to media outlets as “sewer channels”; and from Sali Berisha himself, who in September 2024 threatened to treat critical journalists as “members of a criminal organization.”

Different actors, different political positions, the same rhetorical move: media that does not align is reframed as criminal, disloyal or instrumentalized by opponents. This reflects a shared political narrative that delegitimizes inconvenient coverage. It has consequences for journalist safety and editorial independence, especially during politically sensitive periods, including election cycles, corruption cases, institutional crises and internal party contests.

SafeJournalists Network reaffirms that political leaders have the right to challenge media reporting, seek corrections and respond publicly through legal and self-regulatory channels. Rhetoric that portrays journalists and newsrooms as criminal, disloyal or instruments of political opponents falls outside the bounds of legitimate criticism and contributes to the conditions in which journalists are pressured, harassed or harmed.

SafeJournalists calls on all political actors in Albania to refrain from this rhetorical pattern and will continue to monitor and document its consequences for journalists and media workers in the country.