A 28-year-old protester lost his left eye after police shot him in the face with a rubber bullet during Saturday’s anti-government protest in Tirana. Hospital sources confirmed the injury to Exit.al.
Erjon Vishkulli was rushed to the Trauma Hospital in Tirana, where he underwent surgery. Friends and people close to him had already reported online that he had lost his eye.
Photos of Vishkulli with his face covered in blood spread quickly on social media. News24 journalist Osman Stafa published footage of him right after he was injured.
Vishkulli is well known among Albanian football fans. He is a member of the leadership of the supporters’ group Tifozat Kuq e Zi and has followed the national team in stadiums for years. The group posted a message of solidarity on Facebook after he was injured, wishing him a fast recovery.
He was one of many people hurt on Saturday as police used heavy force to break up the protest. Reuters reported that riot police fired tear gas, water cannons and rubber bullets after protesters threw rocks at officers and set fire to the door of the Ministry of Agriculture. Clashes spread from the main boulevard to other parts of the city, and rubbish bins were set on fire.
Stafa published footage of police beating peaceful, defenceless people. One shows a police officer firing rubber bullets indiscriminately at peaceful protesters from a distance.
Saturday’s protest drew larger crowds than earlier days as university lecturers, teachers, opposition politicians and other public figures joined the students. The protesters were demanding better education, more opportunities and the resignation of Prime Minister Edi Rama.
Student-led protests have taken place in Tirana almost every day for about two weeks. They grew out of a movement that started nearly five months ago against a luxury resort linked to Jared Kushner, planned near a protected wetland. Police first fired rubber bullets into crowds on October 17, injuring protesters and journalists.
Before Saturday’s protest, Rama said that continuing to protest made no sense when the government had offered dialogue. He announced new security measures and blamed organised crime groups and foreign actors for exploiting the protests.
Interior Minister Ervin Demo said police were reviewing footage from social media and security cameras to identify protesters involved in violence. He did not say whether the same footage would be used to identify the officer who shot Vishkulli, or other officers whom protesters have accused of using disproportionate force and beating demonstrators.
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