TIRANA, Nov. 21 – The US Embassy to Tirana said on Wednesday it expects a full investigation into the Ervis Martinaj case, who was wounded during a shoot-out inside a bar in downtown Tirana a few weeks ago, but also for the case of former Minister of Interior Saimir Tahiri.
Last week, the US Embassy and several other diplomatic missions in Albania hailed the Serious Crimes Court decision towards the Shullazi group, which gave a jail sentence of 14 years to ‘big fish’ Emiljano Shullazi. In the statement it issued today, the US Embassy said it expects to witness continuous development in Albania’s path to a stronger rule of law.
Speaking about Tuesday’s Court of Appeals’ decision which sentenced Martinaj to indefinite imprisonment, the embassy said it expects “a full investigation,” adding it expects the same rule of law to be further applied in the Tahiri case investigation as well.
A few weeks ago, the Albanian prosecution requested to postpone the investigation deadline for the former MoI under the argument it was still waiting for documents which will be issued by international authorities.
Tahiri himself appeared in a press conference a couple of weeks back to declare investigations towards him and the Habilaj brothers – relatives of Tahiri and heads of an international drug trafficking ring – in Italy have been terminated due to the inexistence of evidence, thus claiming his complete innocence in front of the Albanian law.
Tahiri again reacted to the embassy’s statement swiftly after it was issued.
“As it shouldn’t have happened in a normal country, it has unfortunately happened the US Embassy has said more about the investigation toward me than I have myself,” Tahiri wrote in social media, adding he doesn’t believe the US Embassy to Tirana has turned into a court or a prosecution and trusting both him and the US officials expect the same thing: justice.
The country’s main opposition Democratic Party said two weeks back concerning his claims of definite innocence that Tahiri is being accused and investigated of crimes conducted in Albania rather than in Italy and called for the special investigative body that has been established to investigate his case to stop postponing the process.
However, other than resigning his lawmaker’s mandate back in May after what many analysts said was due to international pressure, more than a year has passed without conducting any real investigation to Tahiri’s involvement in the Habilaj criminal ring, while last week Prime Minister Edi Rama went as far as to jokingly suggest Tahiri deserved to receive apologies from those doubting his innocence.
Tahiri turned into a controversial topic since last year’s October, when Italian police arrested the Albanian-Italian criminal ring led by the Habilaj brothers.
Wiretaps made public in Albania included the Habilaj brothers mentioning Tahiri in their conversation from the time the latter was minister of interior.
