Document/ The General Prosecutor's Office starts an in-depth investigation into judge Irena Gjoka

The truth about the past of the 54-year-old judge Irena Gjoka, who used to bear the surname Shpata (Irena Shpata) and since 2011 uses the surname of her current (second) husband, Gjoka, has become a bone of contention between the opposition and the judiciary.

According to the documents published in the Greek media, Irena Gjoka was arrested in Greece for using false documents with which she tried to show that she was of Greek origin. At first this was reported by the newspaper "Ta nea", then the documents were published by the newspaper "Prothotema".

The Greeks were motivated by the decisions that left Fredi Beleri in prison, but the opposition increased the pressure when the same judge placed Sali Berisha under house arrest, in connection with the investigations into the privatization of the Partizani complex.

Lapsi.al inquired with the General Prosecutor's Office and in the answer given by the Director of Institutional Coordination, Kostaq Beluri, it is accepted that for Judge Irena Gjoka "an in-depth investigation" was launched on May 8, which also includes sending the request for relevant documents to EU countries, USA, Canada and Australia.

To the question: "Have letters been sent regarding a sentence for the deportation of Irena Gjoka from the countries of the Schengen area?", the prosecution answered: "In the interests of in-depth verification, the General Prosecutor's Office has addressed a request for information and documents to all institutions defined by the law".

Law 138/2015 stipulates that requests are sent to the countries of the European Union, the United States, Canada and Australia. The General Prosecutor's Office admits that the request has been addressed to the relevant judicial authorities, but that "an answer to the request has not yet been received".

According to the Greek media, Irena Gjoka and her first husband tried to enter Greece on December 24, 2002, through the Kakavija border point, using a forged consular visa, in terms of the deadline and trying to present themselves as a foreigner. - Epirote.

After the discovery of this forgery, her name was added to the list of persons "non grata" of the Schengen system. She was banned from entering for 10 years for reasons of public safety and her data and fingerprints were filed in the relevant database.

A few months later, on February 13, 2003, Irena Maneku tried to enter Greece again through Kakavija and was denied entry as she was on the "undesirable" list of the Schengen area and was given a corresponding document.

Immediately after that, she appealed to the Administrative Court of First Instance, Athens, against the deportation decision. Her request was sent to the Administrative Court of First Instance in Ioannina, which dismissed Manek's request.

In 2019, Irena Maneku, using the last name of her second husband, applied under the name Irena Gjoka, to become a member of the Special Court Against Organized Crime and Corruption. In order to become a part of this court, a self-declaration form must be filled in, where, among other things, you must confess if there have been deportations, there is a pending judicial process, there is a ban on entering a third country, etc.

In her self-declaration form, judge Irena Gjoka denied that she had been deported. Because of such a cover-up, other officials have been fired and some have been convicted of forgery in the past. However, Irena Gjoka managed to become a judge of GjKKO, to be elected vice-president, but with the functions of the president due to the vacancy.

The lawyers of Sali Berisha requested the exclusion of the judge from the process, who has placed Sali Berisha under house arrest. During the session, said lawyer Genc Gjokutaj, Irena Gjoka accepted the sentence that was for her in Greece, but she said that this was not a reason to exclude her from the case.

In March of this year, the High Judicial Council defended Irena Gjoka for the accusations of the opposition, which claimed that the judge was expelled from the Schengen area. However, after the release of the documents in the media, the KLJ was forced to act by asking the General Prosecutor's Office to verify the charges./Lapsi.al