The court decided to release them from the cell/ The lawyer of the suspected perpetrators of the murder of Martin Çeço speaks

2026-01-16 12:25:00, Aktualitet CNA

The court decided to release them from the cell/ The lawyer of the suspected

Lawyer Nevzat Tarelli, legal representative of Valter and Edlir Mollaj, the two suspected perpetrators of murder, has provided detailed explanations on the recent decision of the Court of Appeal in Tirana, emphasizing that we are not dealing with a change in security measures, but with the finding of the loss of the power of pre-trial detention due to the expiration of the legal deadlines.

According to Tarelli, the criminal procedural law stipulates that a person's detention cannot last more than three years, within which time the judicial system must issue a final decision. This deadline, according to the defense, expired on June 16, 2025. However, the Court of First Instance had rejected the request for the defendants' release, a decision which was appealed to the Court of Appeal.

The Court of Appeals found the loss of force of the "prison arrest" measure and ordered his release from this measure, but at the same time imposed the measure of "house arrest", a decision that, according to the lawyer, contradicts the decision of the Constitutional Court and constitutes a serious procedural violation.

"It is not a decision to change the security measure, but the Court of Appeal has conceptualized the loss of the power of detention, which are different concepts, and has corrected the decision-making of the Court of First Instance. For the knowledge of the public and everyone, the criminal procedural law provides for a duration of the overall detention periods of no more than three years, during which time the judicial system must issue a final decision. This duration ended on June 16, 2025 and at the moment I addressed the Court of First Instance, by a majority vote it rejected my request with a reasoning that for me is unprocedural", said the lawyer.

According to Tarelli, the decision of the Court of First Instance was appealed and the Court of Appeal in Tirana found the loss of the power of pre-trial detention, ordering the release from the measure of “prison arrest.” He emphasizes that in these cases, the law does not allow for the imposition of a new pre-trial detention.

"The decision was appealed by me and the Court of Appeal in Tirana yesterday reviewed the case and considered the loss of the power of detention and ordered the release of the persons. In these cases, the law provides that the court cannot grant another detention, but can grant any other security measure," he said.

The lawyer states that the decision of the Appeals Court, by imposing the measure "house arrest", has violated the interests of the defendants and has violated the decision of the Constitutional Court No. 40, dated June 17, 2025, in the Margjeka case, where it was definitively clarified that house arrest is considered the same as pre-trial detention as prison arrest.

"The Constitutional Court definitively clarified that house arrest is detention, just like prison arrest. So, the decision of the Court of Appeal yesterday violated this decision of the Constitutional Court by again assigning another detention, such as house arrest. The court yesterday had only one legal solution, which could assign other measures such as the obligation to appear, perhaps even a ban on leaving the country," the lawyer added.

According to the defense, the Appeals Court's decision constitutes a procedural absurdity, as it establishes the expiration of the pre-trial detention period, but imposes another measure with the same restrictive character.

"The court has agreed to establish the loss of the power of 'prison arrest' detention and has ordered another detention of 'house arrest', which is a procedural absurdity. We only had a mathematical calculation, the issue has not been resolved on the merits," he said.

Tarelli announced that he will pursue the case in the Supreme Court and then in the Constitutional Court, to finally clarify what he describes as a non-procedural mechanism being used by some courts.

"I am eagerly awaiting the decision to take it to the Supreme Court and then to the Constitutional Court, to definitively clarify and remove the unprocedural mechanism that some courts are using by granting, after the end of the pre-trial detention periods, house arrest, which is unconstitutional," said Tarelli.

Meanwhile, the case on the merits continues at the Court of First Instance in Korça, where the next hearing is scheduled for the 5th. The Court of Appeals has overturned the decision and returned the case for retrial, also setting a series of tasks for the trial on the merits, including obtaining data from the company "Meta".

"The case on the merits continues at the Court of First Instance in Korça, where a session is scheduled for the 5th to continue the trial on the merits according to the tasks given by the decision of the Court of Appeal. Mainly on the merits, the collection of data from the Meta company has been ordered. The court did not release yesterday, it found a very procedural and technical issue related to the terms of detention," the lawyer added.

Pending the decision of the Court of Appeal, the defense has announced the continuation of the case in the High Court and then in the Constitutional Court. Meanwhile, the trial on the merits of the case continues in the Court of First Instance in Korça, where it is expected that the tasks determined by the Appeal and the requests of the parties will be reviewed in the upcoming sessions. /CNA