Agitation and Propaganda against the State
Encyclopedia
Constitution 55 or Agitation and Propaganda against the State was a criminal offence in Communist Albania. This law was used from 1945 until 1991 and was into the Constitution of the People's Socialist Republic of Albania
.
The term was interchangeably used with counterrevolutionary agitation. The latter one was in use after the Albanian Resistance of World War II and was gradually phased out by the end of 1990s in favor of the former one. According to article 55 of the Albanian Penal Code enacted during Hoxhaism
, "propaganda and agitation that called to overturn or undermining of the Albanian power" was punishable with at least 6 months of imprisonment and up to the death sentence
in the periods of war or unrest.
or death penalty.
. It was among the main legal instruments for the prosecution of the Albanian dissidents, some other being the punitive psychiatry and the offense of the social parasitism
. While the clauses were phrased using the provision "with the purpose of", official commentaries (referred to as "Additions and Explanations to..."), as well as the actual legal practice made it sufficient to assert that the prosecuted person of sane mind must have realized the malicious implications of their utterances. This article was the most common tool in fighting Albanian dissidents. The first time the law was used was in 1951 at the bombing of Sovjet Ambassade
.
uses number "55" because Article 55 of the Constitution of communist Albania
, dealt with Agitation and Propaganda related crime
s.
Constitution of the People's Socialist Republic of Albania
The Constitution of the People's Socialist Republic of Albania was the constitution used in Communist Albania.-See also:*Constitution of Albania*Agitation and Propaganda against the State*Fundamental Statue of the Kingdom of Albania...
.
The term was interchangeably used with counterrevolutionary agitation. The latter one was in use after the Albanian Resistance of World War II and was gradually phased out by the end of 1990s in favor of the former one. According to article 55 of the Albanian Penal Code enacted during Hoxhaism
Hoxhaism
"Hoxhaism" is an informal term used to refer to a variant of anti-revisionist Marxism-Leninism that developed in the late 1970s due to a split in the Maoist movement, appearing after the ideological row between the Communist Party of China and the Party of Labour of Albania in 1978.The Albanians...
, "propaganda and agitation that called to overturn or undermining of the Albanian power" was punishable with at least 6 months of imprisonment and up to the death sentence
Death Sentence
Death Sentence is a short story by the American science-fiction writer Isaac Asimov. It was first published in the November 1943 issue of Astounding Science Fiction and reprinted in the 1972 collection The Early Asimov.-Plot summary:...
in the periods of war or unrest.
Definition
Article 55 was defined:- The creation of any type of organization of a fascist, anti-democratic, religious, and anti-socialist character is prohibited.
- Fascist, anti-democratic, religious, war-mongering, and anti-socialist activities and propaganda, as well as the incitement of national and racial hatred are prohibited.
Maximum Penalty
The penalty was from six months to 7 years to max life in imprisonment, with possible subsequent internal exileExile
Exile means to be away from one's home , while either being explicitly refused permission to return and/or being threatened with imprisonment or death upon return...
or death penalty.
Usage
The article 55 was considered by the critics of the Albanian System as a grave violation of the freedom of speechFreedom of speech
Freedom of speech is the freedom to speak freely without censorship. The term freedom of expression is sometimes used synonymously, but includes any act of seeking, receiving and imparting information or ideas, regardless of the medium used...
. It was among the main legal instruments for the prosecution of the Albanian dissidents, some other being the punitive psychiatry and the offense of the social parasitism
Parasitism (social offense)
Social parasitism is a charge that is leveled against a group or class in society which is considered to be detrimental to the whole by analogy with biologic parasitism .-General concept:...
. While the clauses were phrased using the provision "with the purpose of", official commentaries (referred to as "Additions and Explanations to..."), as well as the actual legal practice made it sufficient to assert that the prosecuted person of sane mind must have realized the malicious implications of their utterances. This article was the most common tool in fighting Albanian dissidents. The first time the law was used was in 1951 at the bombing of Sovjet Ambassade
Massacre of 1951 in Albania
The Massacre of 1951 in Albania was the killing without trial of 22 intellectuals in the Socialist People's Republic of Albania on 26 February 1951, as ordered by Enver Hoxha, accused of bombing the Soviet Union's embassy in Tirana. The victims were 21 males and one female. One day earlier, another...
.
Trivia
Gazeta 55Gazeta 55
Gazeta 55 is an Albanian language newspaper published in Tirana, Albania. Gazeta 55 is a politically unaffiliated daily with nine reporters on staff...
uses number "55" because Article 55 of the Constitution of communist Albania
Constitution of the People's Socialist Republic of Albania
The Constitution of the People's Socialist Republic of Albania was the constitution used in Communist Albania.-See also:*Constitution of Albania*Agitation and Propaganda against the State*Fundamental Statue of the Kingdom of Albania...
, dealt with Agitation and Propaganda related crime
Crime
Crime is the breach of rules or laws for which some governing authority can ultimately prescribe a conviction...
s.