IT official cleared of charges related to Jan. 21 deadly riot

TIRANA, July 28 – The Tirana District Court declared Armando Kasaj not guilty of the charges of wiping the government office server with footage of last year’s Jan. 21 deadly riot where four opposition supporters were shot dead.
Kasaj was then head of IT in the Prime Minister’s office.
Prosecutors had asked for a two-year imprisonment against him, following scientific evidence produced in cooperation with US Federal Bureau of Investigation, FBI.
The opposition Socialist Party-led anti-government last year turned violent when opposition supporters attacked a police barricade at Prime Minister Sali Berisha’s office. Police and the Guard of the Republic responded with tear gas, water cannons and later with live ammunition fire, leaving four protestors dead and several wounded.
Kasaj was accused of deleting the same evening the coverage of the events from the premier’s office cameras.
the FBI forensics also showed that the footage had been copied and formatted and Kasaj was the only person who had access to the server. The footage of these cameras was never made available to investigators. Kasaj said at the trial that he had copied the footage and given that to the Guard that was in charge of security at the premier’s office.
prosecutors said they would appeal the verdict.
former head of the Guard and two officers have been charged with murder and obstruction of justice charges. But their trial is separate.
Last year, six other lower-ranking security officers were charged with murder in the case and remain under investigation.
The immunity was lifted of three opposition lawmakers under investigation for allegedly organizing the mass protest and inciting violence.
The four protesters were killed in January in 2011 during a mass anti-government rally organized by the opposition against alleged corruption and vote rigging by Albania’s conservative government.
The violence during the Jan. 21, 2011, rally was the worst seen in the politically volatile country in more than a decade.
The violence was an embarrassment for Albania, a NATO member that is seeking European Union membership and improvement of its internationally criticized election record.
The Socialist-led opposition maintains that conservative Prime Minister Sali Berisha is personally responsible for the protest deaths, while the government argues that its opponents tried to use violence to force their way into office.
Albania’s opposition staged protests for more than a year following Albania’s 2009 general election, but tensions rose sharply when then-Deputy Prime Minister Ilir Meta resigned amid allegations of corruption. Earlier this year the Supreme Court acquitted him of the charge.