The government has responded to media interest in a possible dismissal by the Council of Ministers of Erion Veliaj as mayor of Tirana, following his arrest at the request of SPAK.
"The answer is that not only will the mayor of Tirana not be dismissed from office, but his ban has given rise to a duty for us to continue to be steadfast guarantors of justice, promoting as much transparency as possible to get to the truth. Whatever it may be."
Staying in line with the position expressed today by Prime Minister Edi Rama, who said that Veliaj was taken from his workplace and sent to a cell without trial, the reaction underlines that "we are in completely different conditions from all previous cases" .
According to the government, Veliaj's arrest did not result from a specific corruption case for which there is an indictment.
"We are facing a voluminous novel about the excavations carried out in his life and that of his wife. So, in essence, we are facing a case that creates reasonable suspicion of an investigation off the constitutional tracks and a detention in violation of democratic standards. But it is still too early to draw conclusions, so we reserve the right to take time."
The reaction further states that Erion Veliaj has been removed from his job as mayor of the capital, "to lock him up without trial in a cell and also lock his wife, the mother of a six-year-old son, in the house." For this reason, it is underlined why Prime Minister Edi Rama decided to deviate from the 5-year-old stance of the Socialist Party and the prime minister to not make any comments in any case of the arrest of socialist officials.
"This extremely problematic fact for the entire capital, not only for the mayor as a party in the process but also for us as guarantors of the Justice Reform and at the same time of contracts with citizens at the central and local levels, even more so for the metropolis of Albania, requires very serious reflection. And finally, we would be very grateful to you and any media that, instead of simply reading the detective novel of the indictment, sheds light on the evidence that supports or not the thread of those nearly 400 pages." (A2 Televizion)
A2 CNN Livestream
MUND TE LEXONI GJITHASHTU
