Speaking at the Assembly of the Socialist Party, Prime Minister Edi Rama commented on the legal cases involving Belinda Balluku and Tirana Mayor Erion Veliaj.
Rama declared that neither he nor the Socialist Party intervenes to protect people who have problems with the justice system.
Të lidhura
None found
He said that, in Belinda Balluku’s case, he had not made any statement in her favor, while once again describing Erion Veliaj’s pretrial detention as absurd. According to the prime minister, this is also an issue that affects democracy.
Rama argued that an elected mayor cannot be held in pretrial detention while, at the same time, it is said that he cannot be replaced because he remains in office. He stressed that he had never expressed an opinion on the substance or merits of the legal case.
“Anyone who has a problem with the justice system must resolve it with their own lawyers. The Socialist Party and I do not act as anyone’s lawyers. You will not find a single word from me or anyone else here defending Balluku, just as you will not find such words for anyone else, male or female. On the contrary, I have spoken about the pretrial detention of the mayor of Tirana, which I have called absurd and an issue of democracy—a position I have expressed and repeat,” Rama said.
According to him, in Balluku’s case, it is a matter of an approach that the Socialist Party will challenge through the law. Rama said that a package of measures concerning pretrial detention had been prepared and that Albania has twice as many people in pretrial detention as Russia. He stressed that he supports independent investigations and trials, but also respect for balances and citizens’ freedoms.
The prime minister declared that the country is not in the Middle Ages, when crowds demanded blood, and that the law must also take into account the sons of mothers who are considered innocent until a court verdict is handed down. He also mentioned cases in which foreign tourists and young people caught with hashish are held in prison without being tried. According to him, the new package is under consultation.
Rama also spoke about Etilda Gjonaj, saying that she did not receive the mandate and currently works with him as a legal adviser. He compared her presence to having a law commission in the Socialist Party headquarters, working without fixed hours and coordinating projects. The prime minister added that Gjonaj does not hesitate to express her gratitude for the support this family gave her when she was young.
“These are the people who have arrived and then ask where the others come from. We are socialists, they say, but where do these others come from? These months are important for speaking to all those who have not heard. We must make sure that the dirty water does not drown the baby, but also that we do not throw the baby out with the dirty water. Thank you very much for your attention,” Rama concluded.
