Erion Veliaj publishes Italian MEP’s statement: The mayor’s case will also be raised in the European Parliament!

Tirana Mayor Erion Veliaj has once again posted on social media. Veliaj shared remarks by Italian MEP Giorgio Gori, who called for explanations regarding the prolonged pretrial detention of the mayor of Tirana.

Gori said he would take the matter to the European Parliament.

In a statement to the newspaper Domani, he said the Veliaj case “will also be raised in the European Parliament” and that he had formally asked Kaja Kallas, the European Union’s High Representative for Foreign Affairs, for clarification.

“I do not have enough information to judge whether Veliaj is innocent or guilty, but I tend to support the principle of the presumption of innocence, and in this case, minimum safeguards are lacking. No hearing has even been held in this case. It is part of the problem of pretrial detention, which seems quite pathological to me in Albania. A large proportion of the prison population is kept behind bars without a final conviction. This is an issue that should be raised during Albania’s EU accession negotiations, which, nevertheless, are progressing positively. There has certainly been progress. But people under investigation cannot be kept in prison. The Veliaj case will also be raised in the European Parliament.”

Veliaj’s post:

Italian MEP Giorgio Gori is calling for explanations regarding the prolonged pretrial detention of Tirana Mayor Erion Veliaj.

In a statement to the newspaper Domani, he said the Veliaj case “will also be raised in the European Parliament” and that he had formally asked Kaja Kallas, the European Union’s High Representative for Foreign Affairs, for clarification.

“I do not have enough information to judge whether Veliaj is innocent or guilty, but I tend to support the principle of the presumption of innocence, and in this case, minimum safeguards are lacking. No hearing has even been held in this case. It is part of the problem of pretrial detention, which seems quite pathological to me in Albania. A large proportion of the prison population is kept behind bars without a final conviction. This is an issue that should be raised during Albania’s EU accession negotiations, which, nevertheless, are progressing positively. There has certainly been progress. But people under investigation cannot be kept in prison. The Veliaj case will also be raised in the European Parliament.”