"The Guardian" article/ Smoke in Parliament and the removal of Berisha's immunity

2023-12-21 17:37:00, Aktualitet CNA

"The Guardian" article/ Smoke in Parliament and the removal of

A member of the Democratic Party of Berisha fires a flame in the Parliament of Albania.

The Guardian has dedicated an article to the political events in our country.

Find the full Guardian article below.

The Parliament of Albania has voted to remove the legal immunity of the country's former president after he was accused of corruption. Sali Berisha, 79, who dominated Albanian politics in the early 1990s as head of state and again as conservative prime minister between 2005 and 2013, now faces possible arrest and, if convicted, a sentence of four to 12 years jail.

"I am stronger than ever", Berisha said as he left the hall surrounded by bodyguards. He has long denied any wrongdoing, dismissing the investigation as a "purely political" witch hunt instigated by his rival, the current Socialist Prime Minister, Edi Rama.

"This decision will not achieve its goal of destroying the opposition; on the contrary, it will mobilize it with the motto: now or never,” he said, as MPs from his opposition Democratic Party piled up their chairs and set off smoke bombs in the chamber.

Meanwhile, outside, several hundred Berisha supporters protested as police surrounded the parliament building and officers in riot gear and armed with water cannons stood by in case of violence after the decision, which passed by 75 votes to 65.

The veteran politician and his son-in-law, Jamarber Malltezi, were accused in October of "passive corruption" dating back to 2008, when Berisha's government introduced a law allowing the privatization of sports facilities expropriated under communism.

Albania's Special Prosecutor's Office for Corruption and Organized Crime claims that business projects in which Berisha and Malltezi had financial stakes benefited from the legal changes and that the two men collected €5.4 million in bribes.

Malltezi is suspected of taking advantage of the legislation to turn a sports complex in Tirana owned by the Ministry of Defense into housing. He was arrested after being accused, while Berisha was banned from leaving the country.

Prosecutors requested a vote to lift the former leader's immunity after he refused to cooperate with authorities during the investigation and ignored an order requiring him to report to police twice a month.

Last year, Berisha was banned from entering the US and the UK for suspected involvement in organized crime and corruption.

The US has accused Berisha of "misuse of public funds and interference in public processes", saying that as prime minister he "used power for his own benefit" and to "enrich" his relatives and allies. He has denied the charges. /CNA