FLASH
Shkruar nga Afrim Imaj "It never occurred to us that in the face of that multiple iron and concrete fence and numerous guards in every nook and cranny, someone could dare to escape. Yes, the three "monsters", Adem Allçi, Dhori Gërnjoti and Sazan Hadëri, went beyond any imagination and made the unimaginable adventure, which was never repeated."
It was August 2, 1967, when three convicts tried to break into the notorious Burrell prison. Adem Allçi, Dhori Gërnjoti and Sazan Hadëri are known differently by fellow sufferers as the three musketeers who "destroyed" the invincibility of Burrel's hell.
Ismail K., one of the former guards of the famous prison, still remembers the tension and extraordinary situation of that evening, when the adventure of the three "irreparable rebels" raised the northern city and all the security structures of the communist state. It never occurred to us, he says, that in the face of that multiple iron and concrete fence and numerous guards in every corner and nook, someone could dare to escape. Well, three "monsters", as the former guard calls them, went beyond any imagination and made the unimaginable adventure, which was never repeated. How did the event happen and under what circumstances were the convicts Adem Allçi, Dhori Gërjoti and Sazan Hadëri able to challenge the state camps and the arsenal of weapons on the night of August 2, 1967...
Lord Ismail! You have served for many years in the prison of Burrel, which was a high security prison during the communist regime, how many times was it broken by the prisoners serving their sentence there?
I am from Burreli and I have served in this prison for almost 15 years. It was one of the oldest prisons of the regime. Zogu created it in the late 30s for his opponents and the most dangerous criminals. After the liberation, the communists repaired it and used it until the end of the regime as the safest prison, intended for its so-called enemies, traitors and opponents. The first attempt to break the prison was made there from the end of the 40s, where a part of the nationalists hit by the regime tried to open it with an attack from the outside in order to get their colleagues sentenced for many years out of their cells. But their attempt failed, thanks to the quick reaction of the security forces. This is all that is known about this case. As far as I know, there was no other attempt until recently. It was August 1967 when the prison was broken into by force from the inside...
At this time, were you a prison security officer, or did you hear about the incident from others?
When the event of August 2, 1967, when the cells and doors of the prison were broken, I served as a guard. I had even started this task three years ago. It was a truly shocking event, especially for the personnel who served there, but also for the city, which from that moment entered a terrible curfew...
Under what circumstances did the convicts humiliate the guards and break the gate, what did not work from all those security mechanisms?
It was late in the evening, when the appeal was made to the convicts before they fell asleep. Everything happened in room 25, where usually 20 convicts stayed. At the moment when the two unarmed guards were following this procedure, one of the prisoners, Adem Allçi, if I am not mistaken he had previously organized the escape plan, told them that he had a letter for the leader of the state. The guard orders him to get out of the line and I give him the letter. That's what the initiator of the escape wanted and holding out the letter with one hand, with the other hand he hit him with all the strength of his muscles, knocking him to the ground. Meanwhile, his two friends, Dhori Gërjoti and Sazan Hadëri, neutralized the other guard, tying his hands and feet. They immediately took the keys that the guards were carrying with them and started running towards the door that led to the air yard. From there, they start to climb the prison terrace to continue the descent from the other side. And as they descend, they run towards the outer enclosure, which was located a few steps away from the prison. They hurry and get in there, just then the alarm signal is heard and the first crack of the guard who had spotted them. As they jump to touch true freedom, which was just two steps away, they fall into the barrage of bullets. Dhori and Ademi escape, Sazani is wounded by bullets and falls unconscious drowned in blood...
How long did the operation last to capture the two fugitives?
Dhori was captured that same night, sometime around morning, after taking five bullets and unable to walk. While Ademi was caught after a few weeks a few kilometers away, near the village of Macukull...
Were you on duty that night?
That night I was off because the night before, on Tuesday if I'm not mistaken, I had been on 24-hour duty. We were notified as soon as the event had happened and we immediately went to work. It was a really shocking situation. The whole city was on its feet. Towards morning, the interior minister Kadri Hazbiu himself came with a large group of officers. The number of guards and guards increased tenfold, the rows of barbed wire around the prison tripled. Then successive analyzes to derive responsibility. The two guards who appealed that night were put in jail. So did the guard officer. The director of the prison was immediately dismissed from office. Dozens of other measures were taken for the responsible personnel. An unprecedented terror seized us all. Burrell's corps, with hundreds and thousands of soldiers, took custody of the prison for several weeks.
What happened next to the escapees who managed to overcome the siege?
As far as I remember, he was sentenced to another 25 years. Meanwhile, the body of Sazan, who was killed while overcoming the siege, was kept in pieces at the prison gate for three or four days...
DETAIL
The three men who broke Burrell's hell
All three, 25 years old, imprisoned on the same charge: attempted escape.
Adem Allçi was in the hell of Burrel because he tried to escape in 1962, and was sentenced to 15 years of imprisonment. Dhori Gërnjoti, known at that time as one of the best boxers, tried to escape from the Korça area in 1962, but was caught and sentenced to 18 years in prison. Sazan Hadëri, came to Burrel, after a marathon trial where he was convicted with 20 years in prison, for trying to escape to Italy. (Continued...)/ Pamphlet
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