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An Albanian convicted of murder is breaking the law by sharing videos and posting on social media from his cell in Manchester prison, despite prison guards confiscating his smartphones.
Eugert Merizaj has been posting photos and videos on his Instagram and TikTok accounts since he was jailed after being sentenced to 32 years in May for killing a drug dealer.
Despite prison staff seizing at least three devices in the past four months, he still appears to have regular access to a smartphone. Possession or use of a cell phone in prison without authorization is a criminal offence, although prosecutions are rare.
This month Merizaj created a TikTok account to replace the one that had 60,000 followers when it was closed. He already has about 18,000 followers on his new account. Yesterday he filmed himself in his cell singing while wearing a T-shirt and designer shorts.
In a video last week he is seen chatting with various women in a live interactive TikTok game. A photo posted on Instagram showed him sitting with the cell door open and an inscription in Albanian "Stronger than ever", accompanied by music by the well-known Albanian rapper called Stresi with the title "Don't give up".
The posts show how easily inmates are breaking the rules as prisons face a worsening overcrowding crisis amid rising violence and drug use.
Merizaj was among four members of an organized crime group jailed after the murder of Hemawand Ali Hussein, a cannabis dealer, in Hartlepool in September 2019. Hussein was killed with a shotgun after Merizaj's gang took him to a house empty pretending that they would become business colleagues.
Merizaj, 31, was extradited from Belgium after police tracked him down.
It is understood that he is one of at least 66 Albanians who have applied to be transferred to serve their sentence in Albania through a prisoner transfer scheme. It is estimated that it will cost taxpayers more than £1.4m if Merizaj serves his full sentence in the UK.
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