TIRANA, June 5 – Albania’s Supreme Court has sentenced two main opposition Democratic Party lawmakers — Edi Paloka and Arben Ristani — with a fine of 200,000 leks (less than $2,000) each for defamation in a case brought to court by Prime Minister Edi Rama of the governing Socialists.
Rama opened the defamation case after Paloka accused the prime minister of being a user of hard drugs and after Ristani said the prime minister had links to criminal organizations.
Following the verdict, a defiant Paloka said he is certain his accusations are true.
Rama hailed the verdicts, saying that politicians should not defame others and not ruin the political environment with lies and dirty language.
He also urged people to take information from impartial sources.
He also said that politicians should understand they are equal under the law and cannot break it without fearing legal repercussions.
“That is a cultural battle against politics of this kind,” Rama said in a statement.
Some legal experts believe the major implication of the symbolic guilty verdict would be that the MPs will not be able to run again for the same posts in two years when the next general elections take place.
