The draft Criminal Procedure Code establishes a regime of ‘prior censorship’ in the media

The draft of the new Criminal Procedure Code, announced by Prime Minister Edi Rama, establishes, according to experts, a regime of ‘prior censorship’ in the media.

The draft, which will soon be submitted to the Parliament for review, provides that before publishing an article, the media must provide the competent authorities with information, evidence and data related to criminal proceedings, which, according to experts, could seriously harm the freedom of the press and the freedom of expression.

According to the proposed draft, the prosecutor, the judicial police officer and other persons involved in the investigation of the case must not disclose information from the investigation file, reports Shqiptarja.com.

Meanwhile, according to the same draft, the media should not publish information, evidence and data related to criminal proceedings before they are officially disclosed by the competent authorities.

Thus, with the approval of the draft, the Albanian media will be prohibited from publishing data on criminal proceedings, while they will have to wait for the official announcement of the news by the state institutions.

Experts in the field of freedom of expression and human rights have raised concerns about the possible effects of this draft on freedom of the press and the right to information. /Report Tv/