Several Albanian-language publishers claimed on Thursday (June 25) that theologian Ikballe Huduti had been arrested.
According to the claim, the arrest occurred on the day she was declared "non grata" (persona non grata) in Albania.
“Albania Declared 'Non Grata', Activist Ikballe Huduti Arrested”, was the dominant headline in these publications (see here, here, here, here e here).
What's wrong with this content?
The Kosovo Police is quoted in the articles. But it is clearly seen in the quote that it is an old response, based on the date mentioned there.
Content in some of these articles:
"After being declared "non grata" by our country, activist Ikballe Huduti has been arrested in Kosovo.
"Dated 07.01.2020"The Counter-Terrorism Directorate of the Kosovo Police, in cooperation with the SPRK and based on an order from the competent justice bodies, conducted a search at the suspect's location. The suspect was brought for an interview at the Police and, by order of the prosecutor from the Special Prosecution, was taken into custody for 48 (forty-eight) hours, until further decision by the competent Court," the Kosovo Police stated to T7.
And in some others it is said that "Media in Kosovo report that immediately after Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama's 'non grata' statements, activist Ikballe Huduti was arrested.
A Google search with the words "Iqballe Huduti arrested"of the last few hours, proves that other media have also published this claim, but then deleted it (see here and here)
The claim was also published on social media (see here and here).
A Google search with the quote used in the June 25, 2026 claim leads to the article by "gazetaexpress.com" dated July 7, 2020. "Exclusive: Iqballe Huduti is arrested for seeking revenge against America for the murder of Kasem Sylejmani", is the title of this article.
Meanwhile, on June 26, 2026, Huduti on Facebook has published a video of the moment when the Basic Court in Pristina acquitted him of charges of inciting terrorist acts.
The "non grata" declaration and the protests in Tirana
A day earlier (June 25), Albanian authorities banned Huduti from entering the country for 15 years, accusing him of being a threat to the country's security after he was seen at protests in Tirana earlier this month. The order was signed by Interior Minister Besfort Lamallari. He said the decision was based on intelligence information (see here).
Protests have been taking place in Tirana for more than 20 days against construction work on a resort in southwestern Albania. Protesters have expressed concerns about the environmental impact and have called for an investigation into land ownership. Following the protests, demands were made for the resignation of Prime Minister Edi Rama (see here).
Analyze:
Publications that claimed that theologian Ikballe Huduti was arrested on June 25, 2026 after being declared "persona non grata" in Albania are not based on facts.
The media used an old Kosovo Police statement from January 2020, mistakenly presenting it as a new event.
There is no evidence of a new arrest.
Based on its work methodology, hibrid.info assesses the publication on several portals and social media as "unverified".
rationale
The "Unverified" rating is given to those informative contents that do not provide sufficient information to confirm the claims made in the report, and which could not be verified due to certain circumstances (speed, lack of sources) during the publication of the content.