FLASH
Shkruar nga Pamfleti
For five years in a row, all the attention of politics, the media and international donors has been focused on SPAK. Every arrest of high-ranking officials, every seizure of assets or conflict with the government immediately becomes a headline. In this “theater” of the fight against crime, the prosecutors’ offices of the districts of Tirana, Durrës, Shkodër, Elbasan, etc., seem to have fallen into a kind of vacuum of public oversight.
The paradox is twofold: while SPAK faces unprecedented pressure; sometimes fair, sometimes biased; ordinary prosecutors operate below the radar. But is this simply a “double standard of justice” or is a fertile ground being created for abuses and protection of local clientele?
Why did all the pressure end up on SPAK?
When SPAK was created in 2019, the idea was that all cases of high-level corruption and organized crime would be handled by a specialized structure, vetted and overseen by internationals. On paper, this made sense. In practice, this specialization turned into an excuse to neglect the rest of the system.
Politics has focused its rhetoric on SPAK. The opposition holds SPAK accountable only, while the majority defends or attacks that same institution. The media, attracted by big names and sensational effects, have placed cameras in front of the entrance to SPAK, forgetting that most crimes; from serious theft to human trafficking and low- and medium-level corruption; are handled in district prosecutors' offices.
Meanwhile, SPAK itself is not flawless. There are many criticisms of it: for extending pre-trial detention beyond reasonable deadlines, for the constant leakage of files, for the selective use of investigations, and for the lack of transparency and selective crackdown. But it is precisely this high level of attention that has exposed SPAK's weaknesses, while the same weaknesses, perhaps more so in other prosecutors' offices, go unnoticed.
District prosecutors’ offices, especially the larger ones like Tirana, Durrës, Shkodra, and Elbasan, handle the largest volume of criminal cases. In the absence of constant publicity, they have acquired a tacit autonomy. No parliamentary committee regularly requests reports on their work, no international organization deploys permanent experts to monitor their every move. This freedom can be healthy when used for efficiency, but it is very dangerous when used to avoid accountability.
This distorted balance is creating two standards of justice. For a citizen accused of corruption, it is not the same to face a SPAK prosecutor, monitored by every eye, as it is to face a district prosecutor who may have a personal relationship with the defendant or who simply “shelves away” the file without anyone asking.
More serious is the fact that organized crime and corruption are spread throughout the country. While SPAK catches the big fish, mid-level networks are increasing their influence precisely in jurisdictions where oversight is minimal. If in five years we have not seen a single in-depth investigation by the Durrës prosecution into drug trafficking in the port, or by the Shkodra prosecution into clans operating on the border, then the question is not only about SPAK, but about the entire prosecution system.
In regions such as Shkodra, Elbasan or Durrës, prosecutors have historically had close ties with local government and local economic actors. In the absence of pressure from the center and public opinion, these ties have not only not been severed, but may have been strengthened. District prosecutors are less exposed to frequent controls, new vetting and public criticism. They operate in a system where appointments and transfers are often decided from within, without the external interference felt in SPAK.
SPAK has received the lion’s share of the investment: better-paid prosecutors, more secure facilities, foreign technical assistance. District prosecutors, on the other hand, constantly complain about lack of staff, overcrowding and poor conditions. This complaint makes them a perfect shield: when a serious case in Tirana or Durrës does not progress, the blame is placed on the lack of resources, while when SPAK does not progress, this is considered a scandal.
SPAK is neither the only solution, nor immune to criticism. But focusing all the attention on it and leaving the rest of the system in the shade is a mistake that must be acknowledged by all. By creating “excessive pressure” at one point and “lack of pressure” at all other points, we are not reforming justice; we are reproducing the same weaknesses of the past, only with a new name at the center.
Until the prosecution offices of Tirana, Durrës, Shkodra, Elbasan and all the others are put under the same light and the same accountability as SPAK, the fight against crime and corruption will remain half-full. And as experience shows, the well-filled half is often used to hide the other half that is empty. /Pamphlet
prokurorite e rrethe po perfitojn sakt.e ke
Prokuroritë e rretheve e marin direktivën nga vllami i tyre i madh SPAK. Dhe të gjithë nga vllaznia Rama- Vuçiç-Soros - Miçotaqis- Netanjahu.
Titulli: “Korrupsioni në Shqipëri – Virus Kombëtar që Duhet Shkatërruar” Mesazhi: Korrupsioni nuk është vetëm një shkelje ligjore; është një armik i gjallë i çdo shqiptari që punon, rrit fëmijët dhe ëndërron për një të ardhme të ndershme. Ky sistem klientelist, i ngritur mbi paaftësi dhe ego, ka kapur çdo degë të shtetit dhe ka shndërruar pushtetin në mjet për pasurim personal. Ne nuk mund të heshtim më. Nuk mund të pranojmë që dora e drejtësisë të jetë e shurdhër përballë abuzimeve, që taksat tona të hanë struktura fiktive dhe që shpresat e të rinjve të groposen nga një sistem i mbushur me të korruptuar. Ky është momenti që çdo qytetar, çdo profesionist, çdo ekspert – të ngrihet dhe të thotë: mjaft! Ne kemi njohur, kemi dokumentuar dhe nuk do të ndalojmë derisa çdo nivel korrupsioni të çmontohet dhe të vendoset drejtësi. Thirrja: Mos e lejoni të heshtë. Fol, raporto, vepro. Çdo zë ka rëndësi. Çdo akt transparence është një armë kundër kësaj epidemie kombëtare.