Lapsi.al
 | |
Type of site | Online newspaper, political commentary website |
|---|---|
| Available in | Albanian |
| Headquarters | Tirana, Albania |
| Country of origin | Albania |
| Owner | Lapsi.al LLC |
| Founder(s) | Andi Bushati and Armand Shkullaku |
| URL | lapsi |
| Commercial | Yes |
| Registration | Optional |
| Launched | 2014 |
| Current status | Active |
Lapsi.al is an Albanian online news and political commentary website based in Tirana. It was created in early 2014 by journalists Andi Bushati and Armand Shkullaku, and is operated by Lapsi.al LLC, a privately owned company registered in Albania in January 2015.[1] According to the Media Ownership Monitor Albania, the outlet focuses on political analysis and opinion and has featured political commentators from Albania and Kosovo, including its founders.[2]
Lapsi.al became widely known during the 2021 Albanian parliamentary election campaign after it reported on and disclosed material from a leaked database containing personal information and likely political preferences for around 900,000 to 910,000 voters in the Tirana electoral region. The database was alleged to have been used by the governing Socialist Party of Albania as part of its patronageist voter-monitoring system.[3][4] The publication led to investigations by Albanian authorities and a separate press-freedom dispute after prosecutors sought to seize the outlet's electronic devices; media freedom organisations, the European Court of Human Rights and Albanian courts intervened in favour of source protection.[5][6]
History and ownership
[edit]Lapsi.al began publication at the start of 2014. The company Lapsi.al LLC was registered in January 2015 as a limited liability company in the publishing sector.[1] The Media Ownership Monitor Albania lists the outlet as privately owned and states that the company and website are run by Andi Bushati and Armand Shkullaku, each of whom owns 50 percent of the company.[1]
Bushati and Shkullaku were already known in Albanian media before founding Lapsi.al. Bushati had worked at the newspaper Koha Jonë, at Revista Klan, and as a television commentator, while Shkullaku had worked at Koha Jonë and held senior editorial roles at TV Klan, Klan Kosova and ABC News.[1] The Media Ownership Monitor described both founders as political commentators who were critical of the Socialist-led government and also noted that Bushati had been critical of former prime minister Sali Berisha.[1]
Editorial profile
[edit]Lapsi.al publishes news, political commentary, opinion pieces and analysis, with a particular focus on Albanian politics and public affairs. The Media Ownership Monitor described it as an online outlet focused on political analysis and opinion, with commentators from Albania and Kosovo.[2] It also stated that the website had maintained a critical stance toward the government since its early years.[1]
The outlet is free to access online. The Media Ownership Monitor classifies Lapsi.al's content type as free content and its ownership type as private.[2]
2021 voter database reporting
[edit]Publication of the database story
[edit]On 11 April 2021, two weeks before the 2021 Albanian parliamentary election, Lapsi.al published an article reporting that it had obtained a database with confidential personal data for approximately 910,000 voters in Tirana.[7] The article alleged that the database contained details such as phone numbers, identity-card numbers, workplaces, polling stations and assessments of likely political preference.[3][5] The reporting became associated with the Albanian term patronazhistët ("patronageists"), referring to Socialist Party activists or monitors who were alleged to have tracked voters on behalf of the party.
The Committee to Protect Journalists reported that Lapsi.al had obtained a copy of the database and had alleged that the Socialist Party possessed it and that some data may have been passed illegally to the party from government sources.[3] The Media Freedom Rapid Response (MFRR) stated that the alleged database contained the names of 910,000 voters in the Tirana region, together with employment and family background information, and described the matter as being of significant public interest ahead of the parliamentary elections.[8]
The governing Socialist Party and Prime Minister Edi Rama denied wrongdoing. According to CPJ, Rama denied that the database belonged to the Socialist Party, while the head of the Special Prosecution Office against Corruption and Organized Crime (SPAK), Arben Kraja, denied political motivation in the subsequent investigation.[3] BIRN's Albanian outlet Reporter.al reported that Socialist parliamentary leader Taulant Balla initially dismissed the story as defamation, while also saying that the party had gathered information door-to-door and that citizens had voluntarily provided data.[9]
Election and privacy concerns
[edit]The OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR), in its final report on the 2021 parliamentary election, stated that the leaking of sensitive personal data of around 900,000 Albanian citizens before the election, including likely political preferences, was a serious concern and made voters vulnerable to pressure.[4] ODIHR said that the existence of the database in the public domain had been independently confirmed by its observation mission and that such unauthorised sharing or combining of voters' personal data for political purposes could violate the right to private and family life and damage confidence in the secrecy of the vote.[4]
The European Commission's 2021 Albania report also referred to the Lapsi.al case, stating that the outlet had disclosed a database containing personal information of more than 910,000 voters in the Tirana electoral region, allegedly created by the Socialist Party for electoral purposes.[6] The Commission noted that the two owners of Lapsi.al refused to share the database and their source with SPAK, and that the European Court of Human Rights later issued an interim decision preventing the seizure of the outlet's servers and computer data.[6]
The Nations in Transit 2022 report by Freedom House described the 2021 Albanian election as generally well administered but said its integrity was affected by credible allegations of vote buying, intimidation and violence. It also listed the voter database scandal among election-related controversies during the year.[10]
Source-protection case
[edit]After the database reporting, Albanian authorities opened investigations into the leak. On 16 April 2021, SPAK summoned and questioned Andi Bushati and Armand Shkullaku, who refused to identify their source, citing journalistic confidentiality.[3][8] CPJ reported that the Special Court Against Corruption and Organized Crime ordered Lapsi.al to hand over the voter database and that, on 18 April, the court approved a request to seize all of the outlet's electronic devices.[3]
Media freedom organisations criticised the seizure order. CPJ said that the questioning of Bushati and efforts to force Lapsi.al to hand over electronic devices placed the outlet under undue pressure and could have a chilling effect on investigative reporting.[3] MFRR stated that the refusal by Bushati and Shkullaku was based on their obligation to protect their source and that the seizure of devices risked exposing the source's identity.[5]
On 22 April 2021, the European Court of Human Rights issued an interim measure indicating to the Albanian government that authorities should stay enforcement of the first-instance seizure decision and refrain from seizing Lapsi.al's data-storage devices and IT equipment.[5] On 6 May 2021, the Special Court of Appeals against Corruption and Organised Crime overturned the first-instance decision.[5][6]
In December 2021, Reporter.al reported that the Supreme Court of Albania had rejected SPAK's request for the seizure of Lapsi.al's computers and electronic equipment. According to the report, the Supreme Court held that work materials of professional journalists could not be seized before all other possible sources of the data had been exhausted and that courts must take care not to infringe the journalist-source relationship.[11]
Awards and recognition
[edit]In November 2022, Dorian Kodra of Lapsi.al won second prize in Albania at the EU Investigative Journalism Awards for the story translated as "How is Rilindja Monitoring Phone and ID Numbers, Workplaces and Other Confidential Data of 910,000 Voters of Tirana".[12] The Media Ownership Monitor Albania also notes the award in its profile of Lapsi.al.[2]
See also
[edit]References
[edit]- 1 2 3 4 5 6 "Lapsi.al LLC". Media Ownership Monitor Albania. BIRN Albania. Retrieved 9 July 2026.
- 1 2 3 4 "Lapsi.al". Media Ownership Monitor Albania. BIRN Albania. Retrieved 9 July 2026.
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 "Albanian authorities interrogate publisher of Lapsi.al, demand outlet turn over confidential information". Committee to Protect Journalists. 5 May 2021. Retrieved 9 July 2026.
- 1 2 3 Republic of Albania: Parliamentary Elections, 25 April 2021, ODIHR Limited Election Observation Mission Final Report (PDF) (Report). OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights. 26 July 2021. Retrieved 9 July 2026.
- 1 2 3 4 5 "MFRR calls on all state bodies in Albania to ensure journalists, media workers and sources are protected". European Centre for Press and Media Freedom. 22 April 2021. Retrieved 9 July 2026.
- 1 2 3 4 Albania 2021 Report (PDF) (Report). European Commission. 19 October 2021. Retrieved 9 July 2026.
- ↑ "Ekskluzive/ Si na monitoron Rilindja: Nr. e telefonit, nr. ID, vendet e punës, të dhënat konfidenciale për 910 mijë votues të Tiranës". Lapsi.al (in Albanian). 11 April 2021. Retrieved 9 July 2026.
- 1 2 "Albania - State Attacks" (PDF). European Centre for Press and Media Freedom. 22 April 2021. Retrieved 9 July 2026.
- ↑ Erebara, Gjergj (16 April 2021). "Një databazë që hedh në erë çdo standard të mundshëm zgjedhor". Reporter.al (in Albanian). Retrieved 9 July 2026.
- ↑ "Albania: Nations in Transit 2022 Country Report". Freedom House. 2022. Retrieved 9 July 2026.
- ↑ Hoxhaj, Edmond (24 December 2021). "'Patronazhistët', Gjykata e Lartë rrëzon SPAK për sekuestrimin e Lapsi.al". Reporter.al (in Albanian). Retrieved 9 July 2026.
- ↑ "EU Investigative Journalism Award Winners for 2022 announced during EU Western Balkans Media Conference in Tirana". EU Western Balkans Media Programme. 10 November 2022. Retrieved 9 July 2026.