FLASH
Shkruar nga Dashnor Kaloçi
Exactly 43 years ago, at dawn on December 18, 1981, Albanian Prime Minister Mehmet Shehu, who had held that position since 1953, was found dead in his bedroom (according to the official version, from a pistol bullet), in the villa where he lived with his family, at the entrance to the "Block" of the senior leadership of the Albanian People's Liberation Army, just a few meters from the building of the Central Committee of the Albanian People's Liberation Army and also the villa of Enver Hoxha. Although more than four decades have passed since that day, considered one of the most serious and sensational events of that regime, even today, there is no clear and accurate version of what happened to the former Albanian Prime Minister, Mehmet Shehu, at midnight at dawn on December 18, 1981! But, even though after the '90s, dozens of testimonies and archival documents have been made public regarding that event, "the murder or suicide of Mehmet Shehu", it continues to be the subject of numerous debates and discussions, even shrouding the truth about it even more in mystery!
Based on this fact, in the context of the publication of dozens of testimonies and files with archival documents from the secret fund of the former State Security and the Ministry of Internal Affairs, or the Central Committee of the Albanian People's Liberation Army, which we have published in these three decades after the collapse of the communist regime of Enver Hoxha and his successor, Ramiz Alia, Memorie.al has secured the voluminous file "of the enemy Mehmet Shehu", which was extracted from the secret fund of the former State Security (near the Ministry of Internal Affairs), where with some small exceptions, most of them have never seen the light of day and are being published for the first time.
In the file in question, there are complete and with the relevant facsimiles, the expert report of the operational-investigative group, which was set up immediately on the morning of December 18, 1981, headed by Koço Josif, (head of the Investigation Department of the Directorate of Internal Affairs of Tirana), forensic doctors Dr. Fatos Hartito and Associate Professor Bashkim Çuberi, the Prime Minister's doctors, Milto Kostaqi and Llesh Rroku, as well as the criminal expert of the Central Criminalistic Laboratory of the Ministry of Interior, Estref Myftari, assisted by senior officials of that ministry, Xhule Çiraku, Elham Gjika and Lahedin Bardhi.
Also in the voluminous file in question that we are making public, there are also testimonies of the family members of former Prime Minister Mehmet Shehu, his service personnel and his escort group, as well as all other persons who were summoned and testified about that event. For more on this, etc., please refer to the documents in question, which we are publishing together with the relevant facsimiles and photos.
Continued from the previous issue
Archival document, with the minutes of the interrogation of the witness Bektash Muharrem Hanxhari, by the investigator of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, Caka Union
PROCESS – VERBAL
(Of questioning the witness)
Today, June 10, 1983, in Tirana.
I, the MIA investigator, Bashkim Caka, interrogate as a witness:
Name, father's name, surname: Bektash Muharrem Hanxhari.
Date of birth, (day month, year), 1949, Tragjas.
Education: Higher, Ministry of Interior.
Residence: Saranda, Neighborhood No. 4.
Job: Officer, at the DPB Saranda.
Party Membership: APPSH.
Is he convicted: Not convicted.
ID card number….
Relations with the defendant….
The investigator warned me about criminal liability, under Article 202 of the Criminal Code, for false testimony.
Signature of witness Bektash Hanxhari
In 1970, I started working as an officer in the Mehmet Shehu enemy escort group. In 1973, Ali Çeno also joined this escort group as an officer, and became the group commander. Regarding the hostile activity of Mehmet Shehu, Fiqret Shehu, Kadri Hazbiu, and others, I do not know that I have any concrete facts in this regard.
I'm explaining some moments that caught my eye. During the time I served with them, I was treated very badly by the group of enemies of Mehmet and Fiqret Shehu. They cursed and shouted at us, everywhere, as if we were hyzmeqar.
Especially recently, it seemed clear that families were heading towards general degeneration, they often came home late at night and sometimes drunk. Towards the end of September, Ali Çeno went to Sweden with Skënder Shehu and Gani Kodra and during this time, accompanied by the enemy Mehmet Shehu, I was there. One afternoon, Mehmet Shehu called me and asked me if I knew or not, where Ali Çeno had left a “Makarov” type pistol?
I told him that Ali Çeno didn't leave anything for me, but I'll see if he left it in the safe. After I searched and found the pistol in Ali Çeno's safe, I went and told Mehmet Shehu that I had found the pistol. Mehmet Shehu told me; clean and re-load the pistol, change the cartridges, so that it has all new ones, and bring the pistol to me. And so I did, I assigned an officer to clean it, and with new cartridges, I sent it to Mehmet Shehu.
As I later learned, it was precisely with this pistol that Mehmet Shehu had killed himself. Immediately after the suicide of the enemy Mehmet Shehu, I raised this problem in the party, emphasizing that the fact that the enemy Mehmet Shehu had asked for this pistol, many days before, before killing himself, means that he, at that moment, had decided something, to commit some hostile criminal act.
During the time I was here on business, I noticed that Mehmet Shehu kept Ali Çeno close, discussed many things with him, even work problems. Together they would go for walks in the garden of the house and talk for hours. In fact, the breakup of Skënder Shehu's engagement to Silva Turdiu took place at Ali Çeno's house.
Before getting engaged to Silva Turdiu, Skënder Shehu had a relationship with a girl named (…..)! According to the conversation I had with Ali Çeno about this problem, when we were on vacation in Durrës, Ali Çeno told me that Mehmet Shehu, regarding (…..), I told him that she is an immoral girl with a bad biography.
But, Ali told me, that Mehmet Shehu had assigned Feçor Shehu to clarify this matter, who told Mehmet Shehu that she was a good girl. If what Ali Çeno told me at that time is true, I don't know, but the conversation that Ali Çeno had with me is exactly as I explained it.
On December 1, 1981, I began my leave to take exams at the Higher School of the Ministry of Internal Affairs and I learned about Mehmet Shehu's suicide at school, because since December 1, 1981, I no longer went to work in the escort group, at the house of the enemy Mehmet Shehu.
In a conversation I had with Ali Çeno, I was told that he had been summoned to the Ministry of Internal Affairs by Feçor Shehu, and he said; "Ali, why didn't you tell me that Mehmet Shehu uses Guard soldiers as guides for pig hunting"?!
Aliu, in this conversation where there were other people, whose names I don't remember, told us that; "I told Feçor Shehu, that you know this, that you were also there for hunting, when soldiers were used as guides, for hunting pigs."
As I recall, this happened some time after the suicide of the enemy Mehmet Shehu. I also know very well that Feçor Shehu was together with Mehmet Shehu, more than once, for the pig hunt, where he saw for himself how the soldiers were used for the hunt. I remember very well that Feçor Shehu came with Mehmet Shehu, for the pig hunt, in Velipojë.
The minutes, after they were read to me, and my statements were recorded correctly, I signed them without objection./ Memorie.al
Po e pash dhe une qe i dha pistoleten,dhe i tha me ze te fort…TANI VRIT VETEM…Memeti mori pistoleten ne pranin time dhe vrau vete….aaaa turp…llafazan…duan te komentinen nga mediat…por REFIMI i tyre ehte idjotest…awe sa dhe kllounist per te qeshur..haa