Veliaj’s transfer to Fier, Artan Hoxha: Rama’s threatening message, he has been taken hostage along with Agasi

Journalist Artan Hoxha commented on News24’s studio program on the transfer of Tirana Mayor Erion Veliaj from Durrës Prison to the prison facility in Fier. He raised questions about the way the transfer was carried out and about the influence that, according to him, exists in the area where the prison is located.

According to Hoxha, the move was made urgently and without an official document. The journalist said he had obtained this information after communicating with prison authorities.

He pointed out that other people are or have been sent to the same facility, including Ergys Agasi. For Hoxha, their presence in Fier Prison takes on a particular meaning because of the political and institutional control that, he claimed, is exercised in that county.

In this context, he also mentioned Deputy Prime Minister Belinda Balluku, stating that she has significant influence in Fier County.

Hoxha described the transfer not merely as an administrative procedure, but as a political signal directed at Erion Veliaj and other figures in the Socialist Party.

“Governments of this kind and autocrats of this kind are brought down by the wrongdoing they have caused. They have usurped a great deal of power and plundered the country, so in the end justice brings them down. Abuse of power has created discontent among the people. Since Albania is a European country and a NATO member, this discontent cannot turn into an armed revolt to overthrow the government. But popular discontent is growing and may eventually sweep away even the person who appears to be the strongest and most untouchable,” he said.

The journalist recalled Edi Rama’s rise to power, when the prime minister, according to him, came out onto the boulevard with his cabinet without bodyguards or other visible security measures. “Today there are no longer armored cars enabling Rama’s ministers to move around the city calmly. Let Edi Rama try going out onto the boulevard tomorrow with his hands in his pockets, as he used to. Now he waits for daylight, records the videos, and then disappears from public view,” Hoxha said.

He added that lawmakers no longer find room to avoid citizens, while ministers do not feel at ease even when traveling abroad or on airplanes. Hoxha said that someone had asked him for the time and place where officials would gather, so that citizens could go there. According to him, this situation is the result of the country’s poor governance.

“The man who once proudly appeared in the city center, with his hands in his pockets, challenging his political opponents, now has nowhere to hide. On the day he returned from Vlora alone, his escort consisted of at least 11 cars. The more armored vehicles he adds, the tighter the noose becomes around him,” he said.

Speaking about what happened to Erion Veliaj the previous day, Hoxha said that, despite his previous clashes with the mayor, Edi Rama’s action was not a message directed only at him.

“That was a typical mafia-style threat. The mafia and organized crime know where to strike to deliver the message: ‘Get your act together before they kill you.’ They target your family, your mother, wife or children. Yesterday I saw all these elements, and the cameras were allowed to film precisely that scene. If Edi Rama had nothing to do with what happened, how were the cameras allowed to be there?” the journalist said.

Hoxha stated that the image of Veliaj’s mother, wife and baby, in his view, conveyed a threatening message. He emphasized that Erion Veliaj may have many matters to clarify, but such a threat, in his assessment, can only come from the mafia. According to the journalist, the message was not directed only at Veliaj, but at all the other “Erions” in the Socialist Party who had thought that Edi Rama’s position was weakening.

“Yesterday Edi Rama told his people, including those who demanded accountability, such as Toni Gogu, that he would do to them what he did to Erion Veliaj. If he does this to the mayor of the capital, with whom he has shared more than 20 years in power, then he does not care about anyone else. The message to the Socialists was clear: if you step out of line, the same thing will happen to you as happened to Erion Veliaj, and your mothers, wives and children will come to visit you in prison,” he said.

The journalist again questioned how the cameras happened to be present at that moment and who knew in advance what was going to happen. In his view, the same question arises regarding the arrest of Ilir Meta, when cameras were also present at the time of the incident.

Hoxha described the situation as extremely serious and said that the Socialists’ silence after what happened to Veliaj shows that the message was broader. According to him, on the eve of the elections, the mayor of Tirana has become a major obstacle for the prime minister, while from prison he is trying to maintain control over the municipality. He claimed that Veliaj is creating a major problem for Rama, who has meanwhile carried out two other dismissals, removing his own people. Hoxha added that Veliaj would not forgive the prime minister for this.

Nevertheless, the journalist emphasized that Veliaj’s position differs from that of Arben Ahmetaj, who is outside the country and can make denunciations. “Erion Veliaj is in prison, and today he has understood where this situation came from and who created it for him,” he said.

Hoxha also discussed the transfer to Fier, which took place that same day. He said he had communicated with prison authorities and that, according to the information he received from them, there was no official written order. According to him, certain individuals had gone to Durrës Prison and demanded that Veliaj be taken immediately, as an emergency measure. He was then sent to Fier, where other people were also gathered.

“We know who controls that county and who is responsible for the institutions there. What is the prime minister doing? It was not SPAK that sent Erion Veliaj to Fier, but the Prisons Directorate, which is under the Ministry of Justice,” the journalist said.

“We would like Erion Veliaj to become active, but in the place where they have sent him, he can negotiate only over prison soup. I have said that he has been taken hostage. By what Edi Rama did to him yesterday, Veliaj has been turned into an example for everyone else: dare to step out of line and you will end up like Erion Veliaj, together with your family,” Artan Hoxha concluded.