Head of government security force, driver and chief of IT at the prime minister’s office formally charged and arrested. Three opposition MPs also under investigation for inciting violence.
Tirana Times
TIRANA, Jan 27 – Albanian state prosecutors have issued arrest warrants for the general in charge of the government’s top security force, his driver and the head of IT at the prime minister’s office in relation to the deadly protest of Jan. 21, 2011.
Prosecutors also want to investigate three opposition members of parliament for inciting violence at the protest, and have asked parliament to remove their immunities from prosecution.
In these latest actions, the Office of the General Prosecutor has had open backing from key ambassadors in Tirana, part of a plan from friendly democratic countries and institutions to force Albania to fully investigate the events of Jan. 21, 2011, when four opposition protesters died, and scores of citizens and police were injured in clashes that lasted for five hours in the vicinity of government building housing the prime minister’s office.
Gen. Ndrea Prendi is accused of personally killing one of the four protesters. Until the arrest warrant was issued, Gen. Prendi was head of the Interior Ministry’s paramilitary force that protects key government buildings and leaders נthe Guard of the Republic.
Prosecutors say evidence analyzed with the help of the American Federal Bureau of Investigation shows Gen. Prendi’s personal weapon was used to kill one of the protesters, Faik Myrtaj.
In a press conference, General Prosecutor Ina Rama said one of the 11 bullets Prendi’s weapon fired killed Myrtaj. Prosecutors also issued an arrest warrant for Prendi’s driver, Arjan Adhami, who they say helped hide evidence of Prendi’s involvement.
“The acts of ballistic examinations performed in the crime lab in Tirana and the FBI crime labs in the United States prove beyond any doubt that the personal weapon of citizen Ndre Prendi, a standard 9 mm Beretta, shot 11 times into the crowd. One of the projectiles from the weapon Šcaused the death of citizen Faik Myrtaj,” Ms. Rama said at the press conference. She added parts of the gun were changed and damaged to hide the truth. “The [gun] was mechanically damaged, aiming to make it impossible for experts to identify the cartridges found at the scene,” she added.
Armando Kasaj, the head of IT at the prime minister’s office, became a target of prosecutors because he allegedly erased close circuit security camera footage from the servers where they were stored to hide what happened on Jan. 21, 2011 and to hinder the investigation about the crimes committed in the the vicinity of the government building.
General Prosecutor Rama also asked parliament to lift immunity for criminal prosecution of three opposition MPs, Besnik Bare, Tom Doshi and Taulant Balla, for their active role during the protest, where demonstrators were very violent against the police.
As she held the press conference to announce the arrests, the general prosecutor was flanked by U.S. Ambassador Alexander Arvizu, who said he fully support’s Ms. Rama work. The United States wants an investigation that is complete, independent and comprehensive, he said.
Gen. Prendi was suspended from his duties by Prime Minister Sali Berisha once the arrest warrant was issued, but a government spokeswoman said prosecutors were politically motivated.
International support for investigation
Top Western diplomats in Tirana have supported the work of the prosecution in this matter, saying they have full conference in its actions. European Union Ambassador Ettore Sequi joined his U.S. and OSCE counterparts to call for an “investigation that must be independent, comprehensive and free of political interference.”
The diplomats said they have been closely following the results of investigations, the response of government and opposition.
“We expect the investigation to go forward through the prosecutor’s office, because we, the U.S., EU and OSCE have the confidence in and support this institution. We also believe the courts will do their job and provide justice,” Sequi said.
Government says prosecution should punish violent protest organizers
In a statement released at a press conference by its spokeswoman, the government said the prosecutor general had failed to take any measures “against those who organized, sponsored and carried out the attack on the Council of Ministers.” The statement added the prosecution had coordinated the entire arrest process with the leader of the Socialist Party as part of on anti-government move.
For a year, Prime Minister Berisha has maintained the Jan. 21 protest was part of coup to overthrow him unconstitutionally. He has accused President Bamir Topi and the general prosecutor for colluding with the opposition to overthrow the government. Those accused say the claim is ridiculous.
Opposition wants PM, former Interior Minister charged too
Opposition leader Edi Rama said Prime Minister Berisha and former Interior Minister Lulzim Basha should also be placed under investigation. The Socialist Party head, Mr. Rama, says the orders that lead to the deaths of the protestors and erasing the evidence came from the top.
Mr. Rama added prosecutors will have the opposition’s full support for its investigation and that all the Socialist members of parliament under scrutiny will be at the prosecution’s disposal. However, the Socialist Party also wants authorities to investigate Prime Minister Berisha so there is no barrier to full justice.
“To ask the immunity of three opposition members and not of Sali Berisha, who has the responsibility of the murders of Jan. 21 January, is not normal. Albanian opposition accuses Sali Berisha and Lulzim Basha as directly responsible for the use of guns on people, resulting in the killing of four innocent people and injuring dozens of others,” said Socialist MP Saimir Tahiri in a press conference.
Gabriel Partos, an analyst with the Economist Intelligence Unit, said in interviews to different Albanian media outlets that allegations of a high-level conspiracy to cover-up the murder of protestors during the January 21 riots is a further blow to Albania’s already tarnished reputation.
“Albania has no chance of securing EU candidate status until it changes direction. That requires, among other things, the resumption of a constructive dialogue between the government and the opposition, an end to political interference with the judiciary and a genuine attempt to tackle corruption,” he said.
