Specifically, during the hearings held on May 25 and June 10, the Special Court suspended the pretrial detention deadlines for the only detained defendant, Erion Veliaj, due to the absence of the lawyers representing the other two co-defendants.

The decision was challenged in court by lawyer Plarent Ndreca, who argued that it was unfair because Veliaj was not responsible for the postponement of the hearings, according to journalist Klodiana Lala.

However, Judge Saida Dollani rejected the request, paving the way for Veliaj to appeal to the Supreme Court.

It should be recalled that the mayor of Tirana has been held in pretrial detention since February 10, 2025.

According to the Special Prosecutor’s Office against Corruption and Organized Crime, Veliaj is accused of corruption in nine cases, money laundering, concealment of assets, abuse of office, and introducing illegal items into prison.

The post Appeal of the SPAK overturns Erion Veliaj’s request opposing the suspension of pretrial detention deadlines appeared first on Albeu.com.

The request of former Health Minister Ilir Beqaj to ease the security measure of “prison detention” was rejected this Thursday by the Special Court of Appeal for Corruption and Organized Crime. The judging panel decided to uphold the previous decision of the First Instance Court.

The former minister had filed an appeal seeking to replace the “prison detention” measure with “house arrest.” As an alternative, he proposed a property guarantee of 2 million lekë or any other amount the court deemed appropriate.

The single judge of the case, Miliana Muça, after reviewing the appeal, announced “The upholding of decision no. 362, dated 25.05.2026, of the Special Court of First Instance for Corruption and Organized Crime.”

Consequently, Ilir Beqaj will remain under the security measure of “prison detention,” as previously determined.

The post GJKKO Appeal Court Rejects Ilir Beqaj’s Release Request, Upholds Prison Detention appeared first on Albeu.com.