"Punch" in Veliaj's face/ "Constitutional Court" does not review the appeal against the trial on the merits

2026-07-04 13:25:00, Aktualitet CNA

The Constitutional Court has decided that it will not review the appeal of arrested mayor Erion Veliaj regarding Judge Etleva Deda's decision to proceed with a trial on the merits of the criminal case against him.

The decision by the special judge to transfer the case to Veliaj and 29 other people was issued on February 9 of this year.

The GJKKO passes the case of Erion Veliaj for trial
February 9, 12:29

This decision was appealed by the mayor, who faces 13 charges for 5 serious criminal offenses. He also requested the invalidity of every hearing held after the February 9 decision, hearings where he himself did not appear for fear of facing justice.

How Erion Veliaj is holding himself up in prison
February 22, 15:25

The Constitutional Court decided not to pass the appeal of the case for consideration in a plenary session.

The full decision of the Constitutional Court:

Failure to pass the issue for consideration in plenary session

1. Annulment as incompatible with the Constitution of decision no. 29, dated 09.02.2026 of the Special Court of First Instance for Corruption and Organized Crime (decision of the judge of the preliminary session, Ms. Etleva Deda);

2. Invalidity of all hearings held in relation to criminal proceedings no. 27/2024 at the Special Court of First Instance for Corruption and Organized Crime after the date of issuance of decision no. 29, dated 09.02.2026 of the judge of the preliminary hearing, Ms. Etleva Deda;

3. Finding of incompatibility with the Constitution of the first paragraph, letter “a”, of Article 332/gj of the Code of Criminal Procedure;

4. Finding of incompatibility with the Constitution of Article 14 of Law No. 95, dated 06.1.2026 “On the organization and functioning of institutions to combat corruption and organized crime”;

5. Court costs borne by the interested party

"Punch" in Veliaj's face/ "Constitutional Court" does

The mayor of Tirana has been in the cells of Durres Prison since February of last year. He faces 13 charges for 5 serious criminal offenses, including passive corruption, money laundering, failure to declare assets, abuse of office and bringing items into prison.

There are already 60 thousand pages of facts and evidence in court for all the criminal offenses that are against him, and Veliaj has been using various technicalities and machinations for 15 sessions to drag out the judicial processes. Veliaj has been left in prison by all levels of courts, while he is still trying to postpone his trial with excuses. /CNA