Tirana Mayor Erion Veliaj will remain in prison. The Special Appeals Court decided to reject his request for release, leaving in force the security measure of "prison arrest" ordered on February 12 by the Special Court.
The decision against the mayor, who is being investigated by SPAK for "corruption" and "money laundering", was announced by special judge Engert Pëllumbi in a courtroom where Veliaj himself was also present. In the same decision, the Appeals Chamber reduced the "prison arrest" measure for businessman Elman Abule to "house arrest", while leaving the "compulsion to appear" measures for businessmen Gentian Sula, Shkëlqim Fusha and Meriman Palushi unchanged, writes A2 CNN.
The decision was announced 1 hour later than expected, because Judge Engert Pëllumbi was reviewing the appeal of Veliaj's wife, Ajola Xoxa, against the seizure by SPAK of two bank accounts and three sums of money found during BKH inspections in one of her offices. After rejecting her appeal, leaving the seizure in force, Judge Pëllumbi announced the decision against the mayor. The gap between the two decisions in time meant that Ajola Xoxa was inside the Special Appeals building when the decision against the mayor was given in one of its halls. While denying the existence of new evidence in the trial against Xoxa, her lawyer commented on the decision against Veliaj.
"Resolving cases with a measure of arrest not only for Erion Veliaj, but for anyone, is an absurdity that only happens in Albania, especially for acts that do not present a degree of danger and the person himself does not present a high degree of danger. They expect some miracle to happen in the High Court, of a nature that it will accept the request for substitution of Erion Veliaj's measure," said lawyer Haxhia.
The review of Veliaj's and the businessmen's appeal took three days at the Special Appeal. In Tuesday's session, Veliaj's lawyers requested the mayor's release from detention, claiming that the legal conditions for his detention did not exist. The presentation of several wiretaps by SPAK, as new evidence, was the reason for the postponement of the session to give Veliaj's lawyers time to familiarize themselves with them.
On Wednesday, lawyers and Veliaj strongly opposed the acts brought by prosecutors, which according to the mayor were only his phone conversations with family members.
After two days of hearings, spanning nearly 11 hours in total, Judge Pëllumi gave himself time to announce the decision on the third day. Mayor Veliaj can challenge the Appeals Decision in the High Court within 45 days from the announcement of the decision. (A2 Televizion)
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