The decision to return to prison, unexecuted/ What Lefter Koka's defense states

2026-05-16 21:23:00, Aktualitet CNA

The Special Court of Appeals has decided to return former Minister of the Environment, Lefter Koka, to prison in connection with the Tirana incinerator case, but this order has not yet been executed as the former senior official has been abroad for more than four months.

Faced with this situation, Koka's defense has clarified that his departure from Albania is not related to avoiding justice, but to the need for specialized medical treatment.

Lawyer Maksim Sota stated that his client has shown health problems during his time in detention and immediately after his release in December, and has traveled abroad for treatment, assuring that he will appear before the authorities as soon as he completes his treatment.

This new legal development comes after the Special Appeal accepted the prosecution's request to overturn part of the First Instance decision, which in April 2025 had ordered the termination of the security measure for the former minister. Although the First Instance sentenced Koka to 2 years in prison for abuse of office in collaboration, it assessed at the time that the sentence had been served with the time spent in prison.

However, the recalculation of the sentence in the second instance of the trial forces the former minister to serve the remainder of the sentence, returning him to the status of a wanted person for the execution of the criminal decision.

The defense insists that the process was transparent and that the former minister was officially notified of the final decision, leaving open the possibility of surrendering after his health condition stabilizes. /CNA