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Veliaj's arrest, Xhafaj reacts for the first time: No one is above the law, Erioni should be transparent about the accusations

Politiko 2025-02-15 18:46:12

Veliaj's arrest, Xhafaj reacts for the first time: No one is above the law,

The Chairman of the Special Anti-Corruption Commission, and also a Socialist Party MP, Fatmir Xhafa, has reacted for the first time after the arrest of Tirana Mayor Erion Veliaj.

In an elaborate post on social media, Xhafaj praises Veliaj's work as mayor and emphasizes that he himself does not believe that Veliaj is a corrupt official. But according to him, it is up to the judiciary to decide whether the mayor is involved in corruption or not.

However, Xhafaj adds that no one is above the law and that Veliaj must be transparent about the accusations leveled against him.

"I have known Mr. Veliaj closely since he joined the Socialist Party, then as a colleague MP and minister, and for about 10 years I have been collaborating closely with him as a Tirana district MP with the Mayor of Tirana and the political leader of the district as well. For all of this,
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??? What the opposition could not do for over 10 months with about 50 weekly, often violent protests, was done by a court decision about 90 days before the elections, which imposed the security measure of "prison arrest" for the Mayor of the capital and one of the main political leaders of the Socialist Party for the Tirana region.
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If you then combine this with the "anonymous" start of this case, the way it was handled, the way it was presented to the public during the investigation and after the court decision, with some "arguments" used for this decision-making that do not match the truth that we know and even worse when you hear about pressure and blackmail against the witnesses questioned, this rightly calls into question the professional and moral integrity of this process, making it suspicious in the eyes of every legal professional and
the public itself. ????????̈ ???? ????????̈ ????????.
I do not go into the essence of the matter at all, is he guilty or not and responsible for what he is accused of, despite the fact that from those hundreds of pages I do not clearly find such a thing, where is the corruption of the Mayor himself!! Anyway, this does not concern me and I do not even attempt to do this. This primarily concerns the prosecutors, they have the burden of proof, to prove guilt with convincing evidence, beyond any doubt, with clear evidence and not with assumptions and indirect interpretations as read in the court decision.
???????? ??????????????????????̈?????????̈????, ???????? ????????̈??????????????????????????????????????? ???? ????????????????????????????????? ??????????????? ???????? ????????????????????? ???? ??????????????????????????????????? ????????̈ ???????????????????????????????̈ ????????̈ ??????????????????????̈???? ???????????? ??????????????????????̈ ????????̈ ??????????????????????̈???? ????????̈ ????????̈?????????????????? ???????? ?????????????????????????̈ ???????????? ????????̈ ???????????????????????? ???????? ??????????????????????????????????????????????????? ???????????? ??????????????????????? ???????????? ????????̈?????????????????? ????????????̈ ?????????????????????????????? ????????̈ ????????????????????????????????? ???????????????????????????, ????????̈ ???????????????????????????????????? ????????̈ ????????????????????????????????? ??????????????????????????????????????????????????? ???????????? ????????̈?????????????????????????????????????????? ????????̈ ???????????????????????? ????????????????????? ???????????????????????????????????????????????? ??????????????? ?????????????????????????????? ??????????????????????????????????̈ ????????̈ ?????????????????????????????????????????? ???? ?????????????????????????̈ ???? ?????????????????????????????? ???????????? ????????????????????????????????? ??????????????? ??????????????????????????????????????? ???????????????????????? ???????????? ???????????????????????????????̈ ??????????????????????????????.
"The long and deep acquaintance with Erioni keeps my assessment of him the same today as a public official who, wherever he has been, has served in the interest of the law and the public good.
However, in the conditions when the inventories of clothing have been released in the media market (not without purpose given in that way and with those details), public opinion deserves to be clarified about them, despite the fact that, as can be seen from the court decision made public, there is no direct connection between those "facts" and the accusation of corruption against the Mayor.
In conclusion, expressing my support for Erioni in his legal and political battle, I ask him, even in the current conditions of isolation, to make full transparency about the accusations raised as an obligation to public opinion, the citizens and his constituents of Tirana, as well as in front of the judges who will judge him and decide on his truth," Xhadfaj writes, among other things.