FLASH
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The lawyers of the former prime minister Sali Berisha reacted to the decision of the special court, which left him under house arrest. They complain that the court has violated the law by acting on a political order. They also attacked the prosecutors of the case.
Lawyers' statement:
The court isolates Sali Berisha by political order contrary to the law
Arben Kraja, former secret police officer of the communist regime, converted to Special Prosecutor Against Corruption and Organized Crime, as well as prosecutor Enkeleda Millonai, rumored for her connections with the SP criminal network, asked for the DP chairman Sali Berisha under house arrest, with police supervision and complete communication ban.
The Special Court Against Corruption and Organized Crime (GJKKO) on 20.10.2023, after the public political orders of Edi Rama, took a decision to assign two measures of restriction of freedom to Sali Berisha, former president and former prime minister of Albania and the current head of the Democratic Party of Albania, namely the ban on leaving the country and the obligation to appear before the prosecution twice a month.
These measures were in flagrant violation of constitutional guarantees, which provide immunity for MPs. Measures such as restricting the freedoms of deputies, preventing their movement abroad, control of the residence, as well as other constitutional freedoms, such as that of expression, of exercising political functions, require that parliamentary authorization be granted ex-ante by The Assembly of Albania (Article 73 of the Constitution of Albania).
Mr. Berisha denounced these measures as unconstitutional and refused to obey them, since to do otherwise would mean giving permission to any judge or prosecutor to write a constitution according to government orders.
Because of this attitude, the Special Prosecutor addressed the Assembly and requested the replacement of these measures with detention measures. The claim was not supported by any evidence, as required by established procedure and precedents, but instead by unconstitutional court decisions. Clearing up any doubts about who was running the masquerade, Socialist Party (SP) members of the Parliamentary Rules, Mandates and Immunity Committee did not hesitate to show their bias publicly before making the decision.
The granting of the authorization requested by the Assembly was done in violation of the procedure defined in the Parliamentary Regulations. Contrary to the Regulation and the relevant procedure, which provides that the MP concerned is given the right to speak and that the report of the Parliamentary Committee on Regulation, Mandates and Immunity is read in a plenary session, so that the MPs are informed of the decision they will make, none of the conditions for making a valid decision were met. During the session of the Assembly, the leader of the majority of the Socialist Party, brought over 50 Guard policemen into the plenary hall and made the decision to approve the request of the prosecution without reading either of the two reports of the Mandates Commission and without giving Berisha the opportunity to speak without being present of the Guard forces in the Assembly hall.
After the decision of the parliamentary majority of the SP, the special prosecutor, Arben Kraja, one of Enver Hoxha's secret police officers, dismissed from office in 1996 in accordance with the Lustration Law, and who again holds office in opposition with the special prosecution law that prohibits former secret police officers from working as prosecutors, as well as prosecutor Enkeleda Millonai, rumored for her connections with the SP criminal network, asked the court to place Berisha under house arrest, under supervision police, and the prohibition of communication with anyone except members of his immediate family.
GJKKO rushed to accept the requests of political prosecutors, in violation of the Constitution and the Code of Criminal Procedure (CPC).
The defense of Mr. Berisha demanded that the judge of the case, Irena Gjoka, be excluded from the case for partiality and serious repeated violation of the law. The KPP determines that after such a request, the procedure must be postponed until the decision on it is made. Contrary to the law, judge Gjoka continued the procedure and accepted the request of the prosecutors without judging the request for her exclusion. We remind you that Irena Gjoka was a judge dismissed in 1996 by the KLD led by Sali Berisha, then president, and the previous demands of the lawyers for her exclusion from the case were rejected by command.
These measures against Mr. Berisha were set while he is only a person under investigation and no charges have been brought against him despite the ongoing three-year investigations. None of the legal criteria required by law for the assignment or escalation of measures of restriction of freedom were met in this case. There is no provision in the material or procedural criminal code of the Republic of Albania, which determines that a person's freedom of communication can be limited under conditions of house arrest.
Moreover, freedom of expression and political organization are fundamental constitutional freedoms and as such, for their implementation in the case of members of the assembly, a special authorization from the Assembly of Albania must be requested. Any decision taken contrary to this procedure is illegal and as such, invalid.
Genc Gjokutaj
Sokol Morning
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