Albanian journalist who wrote against EU diplomat released

An Albanian court today released a journalist who had been accused of making calls for violence against a European Union diplomat, after prosecutors decided he had committed no crime.

Police had arrested Kastriot Myftaraj, 51, also a lawyer politically affiliated with the center-right opposition, the previous day after he wrote on Facebook that Romana Vlahutin, EU ambassador to Tirana, was a "terrorist."

A police statement said Myftaraj was arrested "after publishing an article where he makes open calls to commit violent acts against constitutional order."

A local online media site, www.Syri.Net republished Myftaraj's story, writing that "any Albanian citizen loving his country may kill Romana and that would be an anti- terrorist act, not a terrorist one."
 

Myftaraj could have faced up to three years in jail if convicted.