While the verification of the security measure for Erion Veliaj by the GJKKO is awaited, Prime Minister Edi Rama held a public hearing with the socialist parliamentary group, focusing on the arrest in office of the mayor of Tirana and the SPAK file against him. For the head of government, that 400-page file is only a story and there is no evidence. He asked the media to investigate the evidence.
"It is very important that we be careful not to ever forget that we are the guarantee of the independence of the prosecution and the Special Court and the reason why I think this hearing had to be held is that there is no other opportunity and no other space to tell your truth in an environment where the truth is constantly being trampled upon and where in fact and where I have not yet seen and hope that the media will seek and show; is there evidence or is there no evidence. Because to say online purchases of 800 thousand online purchases for jewelry and dresses, while the mayor does not wear dresses and does not use jewelry and to take an elected person who has a contract with the citizens and lock him in a detention room, you have to show the evidence. We have nothing left to discuss or question. Evidence is very simple. I ask the media to do the research for the evidence. In that 400-page novel, there is no evidence, there is only a very complicated and loaded story with all kinds of characters, but there is no evidence."
During his speech, Rama also revealed the truth about the appointment of Gentiana Sulaj to the position of deputy minister. According to him, her name was proposed by the Speaker of the Parliament when the Socialist Party was in coalition.
"And a simple element that I know. It says that Erjon Veliaj made a businessman's wife a deputy minister after the latter took her on a plane somewhere. I don't know if there was a previous trip, but to reach the conclusion that the deputy minister was appointed as a result of that trip, you can do this in two ways: either with the state security school, what were you doing in the Yugoslav embassy car? Or have it proven. Meanwhile, the deputy minister was appointed at the request of the speaker of the assembly when we were in the coalition. She asked me to talk to Erion and have this woman I didn't know appointed, because she is close to us, she is independent and she is a good girl. This is the truth. How can you write this in a criminal indictment? The evidence is what separates this matter and on the other hand it is her battle and not our battle", Rama said.
Rama expressed his determination to testify about the intimidation of people, while bringing to attention the standard of justice, when he spoke about the forcible taking of an artist from the street while taking his child to kindergarten.
"Our battle is standards. I am a witness and I am ready to testify, people have been intimidated, I have met them, I have spoken to them, without any connection to Erioni, they are people in the world of art and culture, and someone told me that so-and-so is not in a serious psychological state because they took him, they took his phone and never returned it, and I called his wife and I heard a woman on the other end of the phone just crying and then I met the person. I personally felt ashamed when I thought that today I am the prime minister and I feel helpless against a person who reminded me of myself. I am a little worse than him because I was not psychologically shocked when they took me to Braka. You name a person, he does not appear, it is a person who does not know what he was called for, because of cultural activities. How can a father who is taking his child to kindergarten in a stroller be taken on the street. Come with us! Where are we here?"
According to Rama, although he is comforted by the fact that this government, according to him, has approved extraordinary funds for the independence of the judiciary, these are signs of abuse of independence.
"The only comforting news is that independence is complete, but these are signs that the abuse of independence is real. How can a parent take a 3-year-old child in a stroller on the street and tell him to come with us in the morning. How can you show someone from the window? He is a professor, he is a man of art, he has honored Albania, who knows, he is in prison. You can end up there and think about the 3-year-old son. Where are we here and we come to standards, how is it possible that Ulsi, Minister of Justice and all you people of justice and you, chairman of the finance committee, that this majority has approved unimaginable funds, the defense and justice fund, salaries that are not comparable to anyone's salaries here, funds that have never been seen in the history of this state for justice and they do not have the means to record interviews with the people they question. Where are we here? In every film, every time someone is in the investigators' room, first they are shown their rights and second they are recorded, here they would take Filip Çakulin and make him a contract and say, come on, help us record the people who come. What does this have to do with us here? At the end of the day, we have the biggest piece of mud here and we also have the microphone. How can we and anyone else, if we had a high inspector of justice, we do have it".
(A2 Televizion)
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