Andi Bushati
No party
Legal status
Under investigation
under-investigation
What this means: Prosecutors are reported to be investigating. An investigation is not a charge and not a finding of guilt.
Profile
Journalist and co-owner of the online portal Lapsi.al, which published the 2021 database report. Per Exit and CPJ reporting, he and co-owner and editor Armand Shkullaku were summoned for questioning by SPAK in 2021 and were asked to hand over confidential material. He said he would not reveal his source. Named only for the public role of publisher.
Response from Andi Bushati
Said he would not reveal his source, as reported by Exit and CPJ.
Related cases
Sorted by reported money, then by linked people and their legal status. The money figure is the largest single reported figure, not a total.
From 11 Apr 2021
Patronazhistet scandal: the Socialist Party's patronage network and the April 2021 voter database
On 11 April 2021, two weeks before the 25 April 2021 parliamentary election, the Albanian online portal Lapsi.al published a database that it said was held by the Socialist Party (PS). Reports…
Status: Allegation disputed. No charges, no final court decision and no Commissioner decision on the database found. The seizure of Lapsi.al equipment was halted…
A case listed here names this person. It does not mean they are accused in it; read the case page.
Connections
Open the map →No connections recorded.
What they said vs. what the documents show
What was said · May 2021
The Lapsi.al owners refused to reveal their source, citing journalistic confidentiality (as reported by CPJ); Exit reports the editor saying prosecutors should investigate how the data reached politicians rather than how the media obtained it.
Speaker: Andi Bushati
CPJ: Albanian authorities interrogate publisher of Lapsi.al (opens in a new tab)Committee to Protect Journalists · May 2021 · ngo · EN
What the documents show
Court decisions later halted the seizure (appeal court, ECHR interim measure). The reporting reviewed does not say whether the source was identified.
Timeline
Media
Lapsi.al publishes the database report
Lapsi.al publishes a database it says the PS held, covering about 910,000 people (mostly Tirana per most reports). Exit and Transparency International both give 11 April 2021.
Linked: Patronazhistet scandal: the Socialist Party's patronage network and the April 2021 voter database · Lapsi.al report on a 910,000-voter database held by the Socialist Party (2021) · Andi Bushati · Armand Shkullaku
SPAK
Exit explainer; SPAK summons Lapsi.al owners; Commissioner says it is assessing
Exit publishes its explainer (16 April). It reports that SPAK summoned Andi Bushati and Armand Shkullaku, that the Commissioner was assessing the matter without an investigation, and that the head of SPAK said there were no complaints yet and verifications were under way.
Linked: Patronazhistet scandal: the Socialist Party's patronage network and the April 2021 voter database · Arben Kraja · Redi Skenderi · Andi Bushati · Armand Shkullaku
SPAK
SPAK questions Lapsi.al publishers and demands confidential material (CPJ)
CPJ reports that the Lapsi.al owners and editors were questioned and that authorities demanded confidential information. Press-freedom groups criticised the move. The owners said they would not reveal their source.
Linked: Patronazhistet scandal: the Socialist Party's patronage network and the April 2021 voter database · Andi Bushati · Armand Shkullaku
Sources for this record
Every source the research cites for this record, grouped by its source label. 1 source.
Source label: Officially reportedOfficially reported · 1 source
- Publisher
- Committee to Protect Journalists
- Date
- May 2021