"Metamorphosis", the Court takes time on the way to judge the defendants

The Special Court of First Instance opened the trial on Thursday, April 17, of the criminal case against businessman Pëllumb Gjoka, accused of murder and organized criminal group, as well as against the accused as his accomplices. Only the defendant Edmond Preka was present in the courtroom, while the other defendants, Pëllumb Gjoka, Behar Brajović, Astmer Bilali, the former head of the Operational Force Directorate, Oltian Bistri, another police officer Ardit Hasanbegaj and prosecutor Xhevahir Lita were not present. They were represented by their legal counsel, who presented their positions regarding the summary trial.

The presiding judge, Etleva Deda, asked the defendants' lawyers whether they stood by the request for summary judgment presented in the preliminary hearing. Gjoka's legal representatives, lawyers Gurali Brahimllari and Ylli Manjani, asked to submit requests that they described as special, explaining that they were related to the invalidity and invalidity of the acts. They stated that they had requested a summary judgment in the preliminary hearing, as they had expected that the Constitutional Court would declare the SKY ECC wiretaps carried out by the French authorities illegal and invalid.

They said that at first they wanted to submit special requests, but the panel emphasized that at this procedural moment, they had to express their willingness for a summary trial. The lawyers responded that under these conditions, the process could not be conducted with a summary trial. The defendant's lawyer Edmond Preka also stated that they will submit requests for invalidity and unusability of the acts, as well as withdrawing from the request for a summary trial.

The defense attorneys for the other defendants maintained their requests for summary judgment, given the current state of the case files, but some of them requested that the case be separated.

According to Gjoka's defense attorney, attorney Gurali Brahimllari, the case cannot be separated because the charges are in collaboration. Although he described the charges as unfounded and raised a priori, Brahimllari insisted that in the conditions where collaboration and a structured group have been determined, there cannot be a separation.

Even the prosecutors in the case, Arben Kraja and Bledar Maksuti, noted that the case should not be divided, as it would harm the trial.

Next, Prosecutor Kraja presented the submissions on the case in a concise manner, noting that they remained faithful to the request for a trial.

After withdrawing, the panel of judges considered taking time to express its views on the research related to the manner of proceeding with the process and adjourned the session to April 23, at 08:30.

Businessman Pëllumb Gjoka, declared by the 'Rama' government as a strategic investor, was arrested in July 2023 as part of a criminal organization, after, according to SPAK, communications on the Sky ECC application linked him to a series of serious criminal offenses, including murder.

Gjoka and other members of the group face nine types of criminal charges, including murder, active corruption, and money laundering, committed within the framework of a structured criminal group. While the officials arrested as part of the organization are accused of corruption, disclosure of secret acts or data, and providing the conditions and means to commit murder.

Gjoka appealed the decision that keeps him in prison at all three levels of trial, challenging his detention as illegal based on evidence obtained by Sky ECC, but to no avail.

He subsequently filed a request with the Constitutional Court to declare Sky ECC communications unusable, but in a unanimous decision dated December 30, the Constitutional Court dismissed the request. Communications captured by French authorities on the Sky ECC application have served as the basis for a series of investigations into organized crime, politicians and senior justice officials. Reporter.al