TIRANA, Sept. 25 – Albania’s general prosecutor, Adriatik Llalla, and his family have come under special protection after they received death threats related to to Llalla’s work, according to media reports that have not been denied by officials.
Llalla received death threats through anonymous phone calls and text messages as early as two months ago, according to a report by Top Channel television, which cited unnamed sources within the general prosecutor’s office.
“These threats were serious and targeted Prosecutor General Llalla and his closest family members and relatives,” the source told Top Channel.
Llalla notified law enforcement authorities about the threat and arranged for an increase in the number of security guards for him as well as escorts for his two children and wife.
However, as threats continued, hinting of a possible vendetta against the chief prosecutor, foreign embassies also offered their assistance, according to the Top Channel report.
Prosecutor General Llalla was forced to take his family out of Albania due to security reasons. Llalla’s pregnant spouse and two children are now living in an EU country whose officials have offered round-the-clock protection, according to the report.
These development have apparently put a strain in the personal life of the country’s chief prosecutor who has been forced to live away from his family.
Meanwhile, authorities in Albania have intensified security measures for the protection of the country’s chief prosecutor, while Llalla’s office neither confirmed nor denied such threats.
However, the office’s spokesperson issued a statement saying that the General Prosecutor and the institution “will continue to have a business-as-usual activity.”
The press release noted that the “General Prosecutor’s office is determined to abide by the law and that no ongoing investigation would be hampered by the recent developments.”
The news of threats against Llalla received condemnation from former Prime Minister Sali Berisha, who now serves as a lawmaker, who said that “prosecutor general is being threatened by monsters who have daily meetings with government ministers.”
Since January 2016, General Prosecutor’s Office has launched several serious, important investigations against criminal organizations. Nine months ago, Llalla said that Albania was harboring dangerous criminal groups with political ties.
He announced “an open war” against these groups. The secret transfer of Llalla’s family abroad is considered the most serious event after the murder of the former chief prosecutor Theodhori Sollaku’s driver back in 2003.
