Tirana Mayor Erion Veliaj has reacted on social media after being transferred from Durrës prison to Fier prison, describing the move as a “police kidnapping.”
In his statement, Veliaj writes that he objected to being transferred to Fier, and that he was given no reason for the move.
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He claims he was not provided with the legal order and calls for urgent intervention by the Minister of Justice, the People’s Advocate and the Albanian Helsinki Committee.
PRESS STATEMENT BY MAYOR ERION VELIAJ:
Today, a group of Prison Police officers sent by the General Directorate of Prisons arrived at the Durrës Prison Institution to transfer me to Fier prison.
Despite repeated requests from both me and my lawyer to see the order authorizing the transfer and the reasons justifying it, we were refused access to this document.
A forced transfer, without informing me of the order and the legal grounds on which it is based, constitutes a police kidnapping in my view and seriously violates my rights.
I did not consent to this transfer and objected to the way it is being carried out, without transparency and without allowing me to effectively exercise my legal rights.
I publicly call on the Minister of Justice, the People’s Advocate and the Albanian Helsinki Committee to intervene urgently and verify the reasons and grounds for this political transfer.
Erion Veliaj
Durrës Prison Institution, October 28, 2026
