"Police pulled the plastic sheets and the heater fell on my head.” Lapaj from the hospital: “The doctors gave me some rest, but I will…”

Adriatik Lapaj was injured in the head on the evening of January 4, after the State Police intervened to disperse protesters who had been staging a continuous protest for about a month in front of the Prime Minister’s Office.

During the police intervention, Lapaj sustained head injuries caused by a gas canister.

Lapaj spoke to TCh from the hospital:

Kristi Gongo: Adriatik, you spent the night in emergency care. What happened?

Adriatik Lapaj: Around 12:20, police officers appeared at the place where we were staying in front of the Prime Minister’s Office. It’s documented and even recorded on video. They pulled the plastic sheets, and the heaters fell. One of them hit me on the back of my head. The ambulance arrived.

Gongo: Did you lose consciousness?

Lapaj: There was a moment when I didn’t understand what was happening. They were taking chairs and other things.

Gongo: What did the doctors say? How is your condition?

Lapaj: They did a CT scan, gave me IV fluids and some medications.

Gongo: Will you be discharged today?

Lapaj: They recommended 4–5 days of rest and medications.

Gongo: Will you stay in the hospital or leave?

Lapaj: I think I will leave today and return to the square. I believe in what I am doing. It’s a matter of a society that needs to understand it has power over the elected officials. You cannot mock the people.

Gongo: How are you coping with the clashes with the police?

Lapaj: Today I received my third criminal complaint. I will not burn or break the offices of my state, but I will resist.

“KORÇA BOOM”