Police arrested activist Gjyliana Bakalli in one of the rallies that gathered hundreds of Albanian citizens protesting against the recent price hikes.
During her interview for Euronews Albania, Bakalli said that during her detention, she was faced with abusive language and excessive use of force by police officers dealing with her case.
“They physically violated me. I still have the marks on my hands. I didn’t face any issues at the police station,” – said Bakalli, while adding that she was initially stopped and detained by police during the second price hike protest on March 10.
Bakalli underlined that she was stopped after being confronted by several police officers.
“I was speaking to someone who wasn’t a cop but a civilian, who was ordering other officers to push us and arrest us. I was arrested on Thursday and was only released yesterday evening,” – said Bakalli, while commenting on one of her photos which went viral on social media.
According to the activist, her time in confinement was hard on her psychologically, but she was never scared.
“I was disheartened about the fact that I should have been at work, helping out citizens. They told us that they had received an order from above to keep us in jail,” – she added.
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