FLASH
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Corruption was present in all branches and levels of government, including through public procurement and public-private partnerships.
The American Department of State, in the report published today on Human Rights, has "blackened" Albania. This is because the main problems in our country, during the past year, continued to be the deficiencies with the independence and integrity of the judiciary, the lack of independent media and corruption at all levels of government and in law enforcement bodies and local institutions.
In the DASH report, it is emphasized that there were no significant changes in the human rights situation in Albania during 2023. Regarding corruption, the State Department points out that, in general, the Albanian government implemented the legislation that provides for criminal penalties for corruption by public officials, but nevertheless points out that there have been numerous reports of corruption in the government.
"Corruption was present in all branches and levels of government, including through public procurement and public-private partnerships, although the authorities made progress during the year in the fight against corruption and towards ending impunity ," the report states.
The report also mentions the high-level arrests by SPAK and the convictions for corruption cases, including the convictions for corruption and abuse of office of the former Minister of Environment Lefter Koka and his former General Secretary Alqi Blako. Also the case of former Prime Minister Sali Berisha.
" In July SPAK issued an international arrest warrant for the former Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance (and deputy of the Socialist Party) Arben Ahmetaj. He left the country after parliament accepted SPAK's request to waive Ahmetaj's immunity so he could be arrested on charges of corruption, money laundering and asset concealment... In October, SPAK announced that it was officially investigating the former prime minister Sali Berisha for passive corruption related to a land deal from which his son-in-law benefited about 5 million dollars. SPAK arrested Berisha's son-in-law, ordered Berisha to appear regularly at the judicial police and banned him from leaving the country ", the report states.
Also, the High Inspectorate for the Declaration and Control of Assets and Conflict of Interest announced that by August it had referred six new cases for criminal prosecution, which involved a deputy, a prosecutor, three directors in government agencies and an administrator in a government company. . The charges included refusing to declare assets, concealing assets or falsifying asset declarations; Cleaning money; and tax evasion.
Speaking of police corruption, the report says it continued to be a problem, especially among front-line police officers.
Independence of the judiciary
" Although the constitution provides for an independent judiciary, political pressure, intimidation, corruption, and limited resources prevented the judiciary from functioning fully, independently, and efficiently ," the State Department report said.
DASH further adds that the implementation of the vetting process for judges and prosecutors continued, in order to exclude from the system those who had unexplained wealth or ties to organized crime.
" The Ombudsman assessed that the judiciary had made progress towards creating a more independent system, but added that more resources were needed ," the report says.
According to the report, the judicial system is becoming more independent thanks to the vetting process and the actions of SPAK, however, it is noted that citizens have complained about lack of transparency in investigations, significant delays in processes and unfair court decisions.
DASH says that although the constitution and law provide for the right to a fair and public trial, and that the judiciary generally enforced this right...
" The Albanian Helsinki Committee pointed out that the accumulated backlog of cases, vacancies in the judiciary and systematic lack of efficiency undermined citizens' confidence in the justice system ," the report states.
Most of the complaints from citizens concerned the lack of response from government bodies to their concerns, violations of due process, unfair trials and punishments.
The report mentions the concerns about the administrative judicial processes related to the lawsuit filed by the Gulistan Foundation for the closure of the "Mehmet Akif Ersoy" girls' high school and the "Zubeyde Hanim" kindergarten in 2022.
DASH says that the Albanian Helsinki Committee observed that "the parties were not treated equally during the trial" and that there were questions about the impartiality of the judges.
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