TIRANA, May 12 – Albania’s Serious Crimes Court has issued a home arrest order for former Interior Minister Saimir Tahiri, who faces several charges tied to “narcotics trafficking” group and related corruption, according to prosecutors.
Prosecutors had sought jail arrest, but were overruled by the court.
Tahiri has already been notified of the court order by prosecutors and will have to give up his passport and can no longer leave his domicile, according to local media.
In a surprise move last week, Tahiri gave up his mandate as a lawmaker. He was elected as an MP through the ruling Socialist Party of Prime Minister Edi Rama and expelled from the group after the allegation surfaced. Using immunity rules, his fellow Socialist MPs did not allow prosecutors to arrest Tahiri earlier this year, however, he had become a large target for the opposition and international representatives.
The opposition saw Tahiri’s resignation of his mandate as a political maneuver, which it called “a Tahiri-Rama pact to cheat on international partners,” while claiming the country’s prosecution is completely controlled by Rama.
In light of the recent events, the opposition’s Democratic Party leader Lulzim Basha also called Tahiri’s home arrest a political decision.
“This is a controlled delivery which we predicted three days ago, part of the Tahiri-Rama mafia pact. This is also proof the illegal demotions in the prosecutor’s office aim to close the Tahiri case. Tahiri will not be jailed or punished because Rama protects and guards him. Because Rama and Tahiri are one,” Basha said.
Head of the Socialist Movement for Integration Monika Kryemadhi also called Tahiri’s home arrest “the death of justice” in the hands of the SP gangs.
“Justice is being held hostage by Edi Rama and his band,” Kryemadhi wrote in a Facebook post.
Rama, on the other hand, who was the first to react to the news, said that Tahiri’s arrest should not be commented, but respected as a decision of the country’s independent judicial bodies.
The US Embassy to Tirana also released a statement shortly after the news broke out, referring to Tahiri and a number of other recent drug-trafficking-related arrests to congratulate justice bodies and the police and state that the time criminals were not punished in the country are over.
“The court’s decision to issue home arrest for Tahiri is a sign this major corruption case will be handled justly and with transparency from the court,” the embassy’s statement said.
Meanwhile, the EU Delegation to Tirana also congratulated Albanian authorities, but also reminded them Tahiri’s right to the presumption of innocence – meaning he, and every other citizen in a democracy, is innocent until proven guilty.
The statement didn’t fail to mention the importance the continuation of these arrests and anti-corruption actions have for Albania’s EU integration.
The criminal charges for Tahiri stem from the Italian investigation of an Albanian cannabis trafficking gang led by the Habilaj brothers, who are distant cousins of Tahiri and were heard on wiretaps saying they had given money to the former interior minister to allow their criminal enterprise to thrive. Tahiri also sold the brothers his personal vehicle, according to multiple reports.
