Two days after detainee Besnik Koçiu passed away at the QSUT, after being found unconscious in his cell, family members accuse the institutions of negligence and lack of medical treatment, despite his serious health condition.
In an open letter, the family of the deceased claims that the 51-year-old was diagnosed with advanced diabetes, ischemia, thrombosis and disability status, but these facts were not taken into account by the authorities during the investigation and trial. He was arrested after an accidental incident, where a person was injured by a sporting weapon. The injured person had immediately forgiven him and did not seek criminal prosecution.
According to the family, Koçiu was arrested and given the most severe security measure, prison arrest, despite the medical documents presented. In recent days, his condition deteriorated significantly and, although they sought help, he was isolated and died alone and without medical care.
Family members are demanding a full investigation and transparency, describing his death as a direct result of the lack of responsibility and care by state institutions.
"Not to be closed as a statistic. To know why a man who should have been in treatment ended up in the ground today. We seek justice, not revenge, but awareness," the family's letter states.
OPEN LETTER – FROM THE FAMILY OF BESNIK KOÇI
Yesterday, Besnik Koçiu, 51 years old, passed away in Tirana's prison 313, more precisely in pre-trial detention. And not from illness. Not from fate. But as a direct consequence of institutional disregard, systematic negligence and a chain of decisions that took his life, when he still had time...
Besnik Koçiu was involved in an accidental incident, where as a result another person was injured in the leg by a sporting weapon (maneuver). The incident happened unintentionally, a human error like those that can happen to anyone. The injured party, not only did not seek criminal prosecution, but immediately forgave him.
And yet, Besnik was arrested in flagrante delicto on suspicion of having committed elements of the criminal offense provided for in Article 278 of the Criminal Code. The way he was treated was far from any human and legal standard. And it all started from the very first moment:
The police immediately ordered the arrest, without making a full and objective assessment of the circumstances. The weapon involved was a sports weapon (maneuver), purchased with the relevant documentation, and the incident had occurred unintentionally. The evidence presented by the family members and the defense was not taken into account, including the status as a disabled person (group II), advanced diabetes (with four types of insulin, one with a specific composition, brown color), partial ischemia suffered in recent months, as well as the severe thrombosis experienced six months ago. The same circumstances were also ignored by the prosecution, at the time of administration of the acts and initiation of the case in court with the request for the assignment of a security measure.
The court, after hearing the claims of protection and administration of official documents as required by law, including medical certificates from the QSUT, disability status, and other serious diagnoses, decided to ignore them all. Instead of considering the possibility of a more appropriate security measure, it imposed the most extreme measure: “prison arrest.”
The prison, Prison 313, did not show the minimum human care and sensitivity for a detainee with serious health problems. On the penultimate night of his life, he shared a room with several other prisoners, who, seeing the obvious deterioration of his condition, asked the administration to intervene. But instead of being sent for medical treatment, Besnik was left from the room and isolated in another environment. There he passed away. Alone. Without medical care.
Without help. Without anyone around in his last moments. Just two days ago, in a low voice, he told us: “I will die here.” We wiped his tears with our hands. We shouted, we searched, we knocked on the doors of institutions but no one listened. And as he had felt, it happened. But how is this possible? How can we let a 51-year-old man, seriously ill, die in a cell from abandonment? Even if he were guilty, even if he were truly a criminal, the minimum he would deserve was humane treatment, medical care, human dignity.
And what are we asking for today? We are not asking for more than what every person deserves:
To understand how this death happened. To not be closed as a statistic. To know why a man who should have been in treatment ended up in the ground today. We demand that this story not be forgotten. That institutions no longer behave with disregard for human lives. That no one goes through what Besnik went through. We want justice, not revenge, but awareness and responsibility from the responsible persons, the persons who could have prevented Besnik's death. This is not just a matter of law. It is a matter of humanity, conscience and dignity.
We address you on behalf of the life that was unjustly cut short, on behalf of every person who could have been in his place, and on behalf of those who have no voice, but only a soul full of pain and disappointment. (A2 Televizion)
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