The European Court of Human Rights has ruled that the case against Arben Frroku, convicted of the murder of State Police Commissioner Dritan Lamaj, must be retried.
According to "Strasbourg", the process was violated and will have to be retried by the Albanian judiciary.
Through his lawyer, Tonin Prendi, Arben Frroku had filed a complaint in Strasbourg alleging several violations. On February 4, the Court published its decision, accepting some of the complainant's claims.
FRROKU v. ALBANIA – DECISION
1. Holds that there has been a violation of Article 6 § 1 of the Convention in relation to the applicant's right to a reasoned decision by the Constitutional Court;
2. Holds that the finding of a violation constitutes in itself sufficient satisfaction for any non-pecuniary damage suffered by the applicant;
3. Holds that there is no need to examine the admissibility and merits of the remaining complaints;
3. Dismisses the applicant's request for a fair trial.
Done in English and notified in writing on 4 February 2025, in accordance with Rule 77/2 and 3 of the Rules of Court.
Excerpt from the decision of the European Court of Human Rights
Frroku was sentenced to life in prison by the former Criminal Appeals Court, while fleeing the country. He was later arrested in the Netherlands, which refused to extradite him to Albania and recognized his sentence, converting it to 18 years in prison.
The commissioner's murder occurred on February 24, 2013. On June 29, 2015, the Court of Appeal for Serious Crimes accepted the prosecution's request and sentenced him to life imprisonment.
Earlier, in April of that same year, five judges of the First Instance Court for Serious Crimes declared Frroku innocent, considering the testimony of the defendant manipulated.
In June 2015, just two days before the Appeals Court's decision, Frroku fled via Montenegro. He was initially stopped by Montenegrin police at the border with Croatia for verification reasons, but was later released.
On March 6, 2016, he was arrested in the Netherlands, where he was hiding with a forged Greek passport, with the identity of Renato Tsepa. Initially, he was detained for forging documents, but after verifications it turned out that he was internationally wanted for the murder of Chief Commissioner Lamaj.
Frroku opposed extradition to Albania, arguing that he had been subjected to an unfair trial and that his life was in danger. (A2 Televizion)
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