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DP: Rexhë Byberi ignores arrest and goes to office, has Rama's protection

Politiko 2024-12-10 20:36:46

DP: Rexhë Byberi ignores arrest and goes to office, has Rama's

The Democratic Party denounces that the former mayor of Tropoja, Rexhë Byberi, has appeared in his office to meet with the municipality administration, although since September 9 of this year he has been under house arrest on three charges: "Abuse of office", "Illegal logging" and "Destruction of property".

Anti-corruption spokesperson Genta Vangjeli said in a statement to the media that even though he has seriously violated the law and is convicted by a court decision, he was protected by Prime Minister Rama because after the 3-month deadline passed, he ignored house arrest and reported to work in violation of the court decision.

Declaration :

Since September 9, 2024, Rexhë Byberi has been under house arrest on three charges: "Abuse of office", "Illegal logging" and "Destruction of property", causing financial damage of 2.8 million euros.

But, even though he is under arrest, on December 6, 2024, Byberi appeared at his office to meet with the municipality administration, a fact that has been confirmed by several media outlets.

This violation of the court's decision occurred after 6.12.2024, he had been under house arrest for 3 months and had not reported to duty as mayor, which constitutes grounds for dismissal according to Law 139/2015 "On Local Self-Government", Article 62, which states:
Dismissal of the mayor
The mayor is dismissed by decision of the Council of Ministers in cases where:
a) he commits serious violations of the Constitution or laws;
b) he is convicted of committing a criminal offense, by a final decision, by the court;
c) he is proposed for dismissal by the relevant municipal council for failure to report to duty for an uninterrupted period of 3 months.

Although he has seriously violated the law (points a and b) and is convicted by a court decision, he was protected by Prime Minister Rama. However, after the 3-month deadline passed, he ignored the house arrest and reported to work in violation of the court decision.

Is this violation by Rexh Byberi enough to dismiss him from office, or are other violations needed?

Rexh Byberi has significantly abused tenders, for which there are denunciations and criminal charges in SPAK by the Supreme State Audit (SSA) and by the media. We are listing some of them:

Tender for food packages – A criminal report filed with SPAK by the PD Tropoja branch in 2020. The report came after an investigation by Reporter.al. (https://www.reporter.al/2020/07/24/pandemia-e-covid-19-bashkia-tropoje-akuzohet-se-mbajti-tender-fiktiv-per-pakot-ushqimore/)
Tender “Construction and reconstruction of bridges in the Tropoja municipality” – Criminal report filed in February 2024 for fictitious payments made by Rexh Byberi to the company “Rroku Guest”. This is a case under investigation, but there is no information from SPAK yet. The investigation of the Syri TV show "Piranja" has revealed that the deputy mayor, acting mayor since September 9, 2024, has exerted illegal influence over the winning company "Rroku Guest", in order to obtain a bridge for her sister, a clear violation of duty.
Abuse of tenders and conflict of interest - Rexh Byberi has favored his family members in tenders. Companies linked to the mayor have benefited from numerous funds from the Municipality of Tropoja. (Investigation by inamedia.al)
Conflict of interest in the tender for the reconstruction of the Shudenica slaughterhouse and the construction of the livestock market - The tender worth 12,678,100 lek was won by the company "Trajler shpk", run by Anila Byberi, the wife of Rexh Byberi's first cousin. The Supreme Audit Office has found that there was pressure on the members of the evaluation committee and major irregularities. Although 120 million lek were invested, the slaughterhouse and livestock market in Tropoja never became functional.
Tender for the reconstruction of the 'Bylbyl Breçani' road, Markaj village – This tender, with a value of 54,502,005 lek, was tied to a value of 50,910,205 lek. Participants in the procedure were 6 economic operators, of which 5 were disqualified for completely illegal reasons, only to favor the company "Vllaznimi sh.pk", which is run by the son of Rexh Byber's uncle. This company has won tenders in the Municipality of Tropoja for a value of 4.7 million euros.
Tender for the reconstruction of the Blini i Grisë-Lekurtaj road – In March 2022, "Vllaznimi" won a tender for the reconstruction of the road, violating the law in at least 5 cases, according to the High State Audit Office.
The HIDAKKI has launched an administrative investigation into Rexh Byberi's declarations of private interests. The investigation includes his assets and suspicions of conflict of interest.
Further violation of the house arrest measure – On September 9, 2024, when the house arrest measure was communicated to him, Rexh Byberi committed the next violation by commanding the deputy mayor, Ms. Zyra Islamaj, an action that is illegal, since only the Municipal Council can command the office.
Edi Rama still keeps in office a mayor who is under house arrest, has broken house arrest, is under investigation for tender procedures and conflict of interest, by illegally protecting a lawbreaker.