TIRANA, Feb. 4 – One of Albania’s longest court cases against a former government member has come to an end with a former Socialist interior minister, Saimir Tahiri, being found guilty for abuse of power and sentenced to three years and four months in prison.
The former rising star and head of the ruling Socialist Party’s powerful Tirana branch was immediately taken to a Tirana detention center to start serving his sentence.
The Special Appeals Court for Corruption and Organized Crime sentenced Tahiri to five years in prison, of which he will serve 3.3 years due to accepting a shortened trial process.
The appeals judges upheld the decision taken in 2019 by a lower court, but reverted the probation given out into an actual prison sentence.
“The constitutional position and function during the time of committing a criminal offense; the extent of the violation of state interests; the extent in time and space of the criminal offense and the dangerousness of the defendant and the offense” were the factors on which the decision was based, according to the court’s ruling.
The prosecution had sought a sentence of 12 years in prison, asking for Tahiri to be found guilty on more serious charges such as narcotics trafficking committed in collaboration with a structured criminal group, participation in a structured criminal group and committing a crime in a structured criminal group.
But the court said only abuse of power was able to be proven beyond a reasonable doubt, due to Tahiri’s connection to the Habilaj brothers, who are accused of trafficking large quantities of marijuana from Albania to Italy.
“A stable connection with Moisi Habilaj and Artan Habilaj has been proven and such an inexplicable connection with the Minister of Interior created the most favorable premise for the infiltration of the criminal group in the ranks of the police and the state, resulting in additional difficulties and obstacles in preventing and combating these criminal activities,” the court ruling noted.
It further said the court believes Tahiri benefitted from the relationship with the Habilajs.
Following the decision, Tahiri was transferred to a medium security prison in Tirana to serve his sentence.
He did not speak to the media, but a post on his Facebook account said there had been a miscarriage of justice.
“I am just sorry things went this way. I am morally calm, I have never broken the law, I have loved every day of my work, I am happy to have done my duty as best I could. This is just an injustice,” Tahiri wrote.
Maksim Haxhia, one of Albania’s leading defense attorneys and Tahiri’s lawyer called the court’s decision “scandalous.”
“Removing the application of Article 59 [suspension of sentence and application of probation service] … was merely revenge to tarnish Mr. Tahiri,” Haxhia said, adding he would immediately appeal the decision to the High Court.
Tahiri’s conviction was greeted with joy by opposition representatives who have been for years publicly accusing the former minister and the Socialist government of ties to organized crime with the proceeds going to help their election chances.
They described Tahiri as Prime Minister Rama’s “right hand man” and Rama’s longest serving interior minister during his first mandate.
The prime minister has not commented on the conviction as of the writing of this article.
