TIRANA, Feb. 17 – Former General Prosecutor Adriatik Llalla reacted this week to US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson’s public decision to designate Llalla and his family as people who cannot enter the United States by telling the Wall Street Journal the decision was really due to a conflict created by US Ambassador to Tirana, Donald Lu.
Tillerson’s decision was based on Llalla’s involvement in “significant corruption” , which according to US law makes foreign officials proved to have engaged in corruption and their immediate family members ineligible for entry in the US.
Llalla, however, denied corruption accusations, saying he hasn’t been investigated by Albanian authorities in the past and that it was Lu’s misinformation sharing that led to his designation.
Meanwhile, the country’s General Prosecution has still to decide whether Llalla will be under investigation in the context of the justice reform after he decided to exist the country’s justice system by publicly resigning and after being designated by the US.
The GP’s statement said on the one hand it “prioritizes the moral and professional integrity of officials” , adding the GP gives full support to dedicated prosecutors” , and on the other hand that it supports punishment of anyone who disregards the principles of the rule of law.
Llalla’s decision to give up his right to become an appeals judge after his mandate as prosecutor general ended interrupted the vetting process underway.
