Kumbaro sheltered from UK

TIRANA, Sep. 11 – The British media continues to report on Ilir Kumbaro wanted in Albania for the disappearance of Remzi Hoxha, an Albanian from neighboring Macedonia, in 1995. The Daily Mail reported last weekend that Kumbaro, it considered as “a former Eastern European spy chief wanted for torture and kidnapping”, has been able to stay in Britain for 15 years and live in a council flat on benefits. An extradition hearing was held last week in London. Repeated attempts have been made to extradite Kumbaro to his native Albania for more than two years but have been constantly delayed by legal hitches and technicalities. Westminster Magistrates Court was told that a second warrant for his arrest had not been granted by the Albanian Supreme Court earlier this year because of a ‘lack of judges’. Lawyers said the same Albanian court may now sit in November or December – when the new warrant could be granted, allowing extradition proceedings to be finalized in Britain. The Daily Mail has learned that following a previous problem with legal paperwork the former secret service boss has been able to extend his stay in Britain for the past two years. Kumbaro, 56, originally claimed asylum by posing as a Kosovar refugee after arriving in the UK in August 1996. He has never worked during his 15-year benefit-funded stay in Britain and has lived in council flats. Hoxha, not found since 1995, was one of three men said to have allegedly been kidnapped and tortured by Kumbaro and is now thought to be dead. He was a businessman raising money for the Albanian Kosovar separatist movement, which was trying to break away from Yugoslavia in the 1990s. When Kumbaro arrived in the UK he claimed to be called Shaqa Shatri and then convinced immigration officials he was a Kosovar refugee fleeing Serbian persecution. By using the false identity he was granted indefinite leave to remain and even issued a British passport. He was given incapacity benefit because he told the authorities he was suffering from depression and post-traumatic stress disorder after his treatment in Kosovo. Kumbaro’s deception was uncovered when he made a mistake while trying to claim incapacity benefit. He forgot his new identity and inexplicably used his real name Kumbaro on paperwork.
UK detectives had been looking for Kumbaro after a request to do so came from the Albanian authorities in June 2008. In March 2009 a judge at Westminster Magistrates Court ruled that ‘Shatri’ was Kumbaro and ordered he be extradited to Albania to face kidnap and torture charges. But the paper work and trials continued ‘successfully’ letting Kumbaro remain in London. The next review of his case will take place on November 1 before a final extradition hearing is arranged.