The country should distance for good from the cultivation and trafficking of narcotic plants

The Albanian Helsinki Committee (AHC) applauds the operation of State Police forces to impose the implementation of the law in some areas where there is planting of narcotic plants and their trafficking. The action is currently concentrated in the Commune of Lazarat, which for a long time has been cited as one of the main centers for the cultivation and trading of such plants.

The Albanian Helsinki Committee calls on State Police bodies to rigorously and correctly implement the law, destroying every illegal plant and holding criminally accountable all responsible persons, while at the same time, exercising maximal care for the respect of the legitimate rights of the inhabitants of this village and beyond. All measures should be taken so that no innocent person is harmed, whether physically or in their legitimate rights.

The Albanian Helsinki Committee condemns the bandit-like act of some persons, inhabitants of the area, who exercised pressure and terror against a reporter of A1 Report and the equipment of this television station, by burning down the vehicle and the professional equipment for information recording and broadcasting.

A1 Report was doing its noble job, looking at the situation on site in order to inform the public; therefore, perpetrators should be held immediately accountable for their actions.

The prevention and tackling of the cultivation and trafficking of narcotic plants is the duty of state structures, but also a primary interest of the society. Therefore, while encouraging State Police forces for the action they have undertaken, we urge criminal prosecution bodies and those of the judiciary, to independently and objectively, to quickly investigate and adjudicate such actions that pose serious threats to society.