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Why should Erion Veliaj stay in prison?

2025-04-09 20:59:00, Denoncim CNA

CNA has revealed the full decision of the Special Appeal and Judge Engert Pëllumbi, which justifies why Tirana Mayor Erion Veliaj should remain in prison.

According to Judge Engert Pëllumbi's decision, there are several reasons.

Risk of evidence poisoning

The risk of evidence poisoning in this specific case is also reinforced by the fact that the person under investigation, Erion Veliaj, is still in office as Mayor of Tirana and has the power to influence his subordinates to destroy or distort the content of various documents that could serve as sources of evidence, as well as to influence various persons, subordinates or not, not to provide valuable statements before the proceeding body or to distort the content of these statements.

The risk of evidence being damaged is not a condition that can be neutralized through temporary isolation of the person under investigation.

The Court considers that such a risk of damage to evidence is not a situation that can be neutralized through the temporary isolation of the person under investigation, as long as the circle of evidence that will serve to shed light on the criminal fact is not yet completely clear, and the risk of poisoning of live evidence will always be present with reference to the behavior shown by the person under investigation.

There is a risk of escape.

The risk of evidence poisoning alone would be sufficient for the court to impose the security measure “Arrest in prison” , provided for by Article 238 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, on the person under investigation Erion Veliaj. However, the court notes that in this case there is also a risk of flight and that of committing other criminal offenses of the same type as those for which the proceedings are being conducted. Regarding the risk of flight, as the court of first instance rightly reasoned, the financial capabilities of the person under investigation Erion Veliaj, assessed in harmony with his numerous movements abroad, referring to the data of the TIMS system and reinforced by the extremely high sanction of the criminal offenses that this citizen is suspected of having committed and that he risks suffering, leads the court to the conclusion that this risk is eminent and at high levels. This conclusion is not relativized by the fact that the person under investigation is the head of the family and the father of a minor child.

There is also a risk of recidivism in committing the criminal offense "Laundering the proceeds of a criminal offense or criminal activity"

The court assesses that for the person under investigation Erion Veliaj there is also a risk of recidivism in committing the criminal offense “Laundering of the proceeds of a criminal offense or criminal activity”, provided for by Article 287 of the Criminal Code. In reaching this conclusion, the court takes into account the fact that, referring to the circumstances of the case, there is data that leads to the conclusion that the activity of laundering the proceeds of the criminal offense of corruption in the specific case was carried out for a long time and in considerable amounts, as justified above. For this reason, in order to avoid liability for the criminal offense “Passive corruption of high-ranking state officials or local elected officials”, in collaboration (nine times), provided for by Articles 260 -25 of the Criminal Code, it is evident that the person under investigation will try to hide the true origin of the amounts of money or movable or immovable property that originate from his corrupt activity.

These are just some of the justifications in the Special Appeal's decision, which considers that Veliaj should remain in prison./ CNA