DW: News24 headquarters transferred to state arms company

2025-08-10 08:56:00, Aktualitet CNA

News 24 lost its broadcast signal. The media company's building, located in the former Autotraktor Plant in the Shkozë neighborhood of Tirana, was surrounded by police forces, who demanded that media employees vacate the premises.

As of 07:36 on Saturday, the broadcast of the news channel News 24 has been interrupted, displaying only vertical colored bars indicating the lack of signal. The media group with about 250 employees, which includes the editorial offices of News 24, BalkanWeb, Panorama and Gazeta Shqiptare, described the action as a blow to freedom of expression. According to the leaders, the authorities have demanded that the building be transferred to the state-owned company "KAYO", which specializes in the production and trade of weapons.

"This signal shutdown was done without a prior written decision, but in an arbitrary manner," the general director of News 24, Anila Jole, told the media.

Strong reactions from the opposition and journalists' organizations

With the launch of the police action, analysts and opposition leaders have described the intervention as an unprecedented attack on the media. Reactions have also come from journalists' organizations and associations.

The Journalists' Association of Albania described the situation as "a flagrant violation of the fundamental principles of democracy and freedom of expression, guaranteed by the Constitution and international human rights instruments." The organization stressed that "police intervention, which directly hinders the work of journalists, is unacceptable and constitutes open pressure on free media."

The "SafeJournalists Albania" network also reacted on Facebook, describing the situation as an obstacle to journalists' access to the newsroom and a limitation on their ability to work. "Such actions endanger the freedom and independence of the media," reads the statement published on Facebook, which emphasizes that the network is closely monitoring the development of the event.

"We hope that the Court will make a fair decision on Monday and suspend this intervention, to give the television station time to move to another environment," said the general director of News 24, Anila Jole, adding that the broadcast will continue on social platforms.

State Attorney's Office: The lease contract for the building has ended

In a press release, the State Attorney's Office announced that the lease contract for the premises of the former Autotraktor Plant from the company "Fokus Media News" has ended in 2022. According to the institution, the Ministry of Finance and Economy had requested the vacate of the building by July 25, 2022, but the entity had not voluntarily surrendered the property.

The case has been reviewed at all levels of the judiciary, while the most recent decision, dated July 14, 2025, of the Administrative Appeals Court, confirmed the obligation to immediately vacate the premises. According to this decision, the media activity of the company is not affected, as it only concerns working premises that can be provided in other premises, owned or rented.

"Fokus Media News" disputed the statement, accusing the State Attorney's Office of misinformation and insisting that the premises are its property, with proper documentation.

The building is expected to be transferred to the state-owned company "KAYO", which specializes in the production and trade of weapons. Founded in 2024, "KAYO" operates in the defense and security industry, providing products and services to the Armed Forces of Albania and international markets. In March 2025, the government approved a decision transferring ownership of the former Autotraktor Plant to this company./DW