A Dutch journalist was handcuffed and held for more than two hours in Tirana after police detained him as an anti-government protest was being broken up outside Prime Minister Edi Rama’s office. Vincent W.J. van Gerven Oei, a critic of Rama, was released without charge after the detention, which included aggressive questioning and the seizure of his phone. The arrest happened on Saturday evening. Van Gerven Oei said he was watching the protest and walking to an appointment when officers stopped him a few yards off the main boulevard. By then, protesters were heading home. He told police he was a journalist and a Dutch citizen. When asked what he was doing there, he said he had been observing the demonstration and was on his way to a meeting. A supervisor ordered him taken away, and Van Gerven Oei said no clear reason was given. As footage shows, he was handcuffed and repeatedly asked why he was being detained. A fellow journalist, Alisa Braho, intervened and urged officers to let him go. Officers brushed her off, and as Braho filmed the arrest, an officer pepper-sprayed her, with some spray hitting Van Gerven Oei in the face and briefly blinding him while he was still in handcuffs. Van Gerven Oei said police offered no medical help. Van Gerven Oei was taken in a police van. Officers searched him and his backpack, then brought him to Police Station No. 3. There, officers took his phone and placed him in a holding cell. He said police questioned him aggressively without first telling him his rights. Officers claimed they had footage showing him throwing stones, along with other compromising video. Van Gerven Oei denied throwing stones or committing any violence. He said his rights were explained only after that first round of questioning, when the tone softened. After more than two hours, he was released. He was neither charged nor fined, and his phone was kept by police. The detention came as protests in Tirana have continued for weeks and police have cracked down on demonstrators. Rama announced sweeping new penalties after violent clashes on Oct. 24, including fines of up to 500,000 lek for staying at a gathering after police order it to disperse, even if no violence occurred.