Rama on Balluku: She has a case with the justice system and is protected by no one; Veliaj’s pretrial detention is absurd

Prime Minister Edi Rama said that Deputy Prime Minister Belinda Balluku is facing a case with the justice system, stressing that his comments on the matter have been limited solely to principles and standards.

During an interview with journalist Rudina Xhunga on the Prime Minister’s “Flasim” podcast, Rama said that no one is defending Balluku in the process related to the justice system.

“In Belinda Balluku’s case, two issues that had nothing to do with each other were wrongly conflated. An absurd measure was imposed, unprecedented in the history of the world: suspending a minister from office. A prosecutor and a judge gathered in a room and decided to assume the roles of the prime minister, parliament and the president.

I was not the one who challenged them. In fact, the Constitution of Albania and an independent branch of power were challenged. We are not exempt from the law and we have a duty to enforce it. They are independent from us, but they are not independent to make decisions on our behalf.

At that moment, the red line was crossed, and my position for the future was cynical.

In Balluku’s case, SPAK intervened in my powers as prime minister, in the sphere of our parliamentary majority and in that of the president.

Balluku has a case with the justice system, and I have said nothing about its substance. The same standard was followed in Beqaj’s case, in which I am still waiting to understand where the corruption lies, as I have not seen it so far.

I have spoken only about the principle and the standard. As for her case with the justice system, Balluku is defended neither by me nor by anyone else; she is defending herself, to the extent that she is entitled to defend herself,” Rama said.

The prime minister also spoke about Erion Veliaj’s situation.

“For the elected mayor to be held in pretrial detention is absurd for the capital. It is impossible to communicate,” Rama declared.