Following the throwing of Molotov cocktails at the villa of Albania’s former dictator, Prime Minister Edi Rama visited the residence of local artists on Sunday, describing them as traumatized by Saturday’s protest.

Rama sharply criticized judges, calling them co-responsible for the violent acts for releasing militant offenders instead of prosecuting them.

“Judges who release these dangerous arsonists every time they are arrested by the police are co-responsible for vandalism unprecedented anywhere in Europe, carried out with the blessing of a parliamentary party under whose roof no ideas or programs are discussed, only plans of violence and homemade bombs,” Rama said.

The prime minister stressed that the judiciary cannot ignore acts of violence in the heart of Tirana orchestrated by Sali Berisha. In a follow-up statement, Rama shared details of his conversation with the artists, alongside the executive director of the Fondacioni Art Explora.

“I have no words for the shame of this, but I want to tell all those who still sympathize with and support last night’s barbarians—or rather, their instigators—that even those who throw these homemade bombs are completely manipulated. For those who sympathize, I say this: you are undermining everyone who wants to work, attract tourists, develop their small businesses, or raise children peacefully. Albania cannot be closed off, and these threats only drag us back into the past, not toward the future,” he said.

Rama insisted these acts are driven not by ignorance but by malice, madness, and hatred intended to tarnish Albania’s international image. “It is not ignorance; it is madness, it is wickedness, it is blindness, a complex of things, and above all, hatred—a shameful act that stains Albania and all of us. Fortunately, those responsible are only a handful,” he added.