Ardian Nikulaj’s killing in Shëngjin: Ruben Saraiva’s defense asks appeals court to overturn life sentence

Under tight security, the Court of Appeal has begun hearing Ruben Saraiva’s case. The Lezhë Court sentenced him to life in prison for the murder of businessman Ardian Nikulaj in Shëngjin in April 2023. The defense is seeking to overturn the ruling, challenging both the fairness of the proceedings and the evidence identifying the person who fired the shots.

At the hearing, the lawyer questioned how the investigation and trial were conducted at first instance. He said Saraiva is a foreign national whose native language is Portuguese, but not all the case documents were translated into a language he understands.

The defense says Saraiva’s designation as a person under investigation, the notification of the charges and the request for trial were provided only in English. The lawyer claims his client does not know the language well enough to fully understand the proceedings. He therefore called the ruling procedurally flawed and asked that constitutional safeguards be respected, while stressing that he understands the victim’s family’s pain.

The lawyer also disputed the finding that Saraiva was the masked person who opened fire. He said witness accounts collected during the investigation described the motorcycle buyer in terms that do not match his client, and that no witness directly identified Saraiva. The defense added that the trial court did not hear the key witness and that physical descriptions of the perpetrator, including his height, do not match Saraiva.

Another objection concerns the DNA evidence. The lawyer said the analysis was carried out at the request of Moroccan authorities without defense oversight, and that no comparison was made with a sample taken in Albania. He said Saraiva’s DNA was not found on any item or piece of evidence directly linked to the murder.

The defense also argued that Saraiva’s friendship with Edmond Haxhia and his visit to Haxhia’s home do not prove guilt.

Saraiva spoke after his lawyer. He asked for the appeal hearing to be transparent, fair and free of prejudice. Saraiva said that, after receiving a life sentence, he had expected translations of all the documents in the case file, not just the court ruling. He said he had also sought information from other sources to understand the Albanian authorities’ obligations toward a foreign national.

Saraiva asked for clarity about how previous hearings had been conducted and for their transcripts to be made available. He claimed that, during the trial at first instance, the interpreter could not always convey everything said or every question asked. For that reason, he said, he asked participants to speak more slowly so he could understand what was being said.

Addressing the Court of Appeal, Saraiva expressed hope for an impartial review. He claimed he had been portrayed as guilty both in the media and during the criminal proceedings. The court is expected to consider his and the defense’s arguments for overturning the Lezhë Court’s ruling.