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Lawyers' absences delay the Fier incinerator process in the Special Appeal

Politiko 2026-07-01 18:04:05

The criminal trial that is taking place at the Special Court of Appeal against former Minister of Environment, Lefter Koka, and 16 other defendants in the Fier incinerator affair has been suspended since March due to the lack of lawyers. At the session on Wednesday, July 1, lawyers Julian Mërtiri, Marash Ibraj, and Ergys Hysi were absent. Hysi and Ibraj had filed a request for adjournment of the session.

The former had submitted a medical report for temporary incapacity for work, while Ibraj had submitted that he could not appear at the hearing because a family member of his was in a very serious health condition. No reason was found for lawyer Mërtiri regarding his absence.

The prosecutor in the case, Dritan Prençi, stated that in this situation the hearing could not continue. After he withdrew, the presiding judge, Judge Tereza Merkaj, noted that the lawyers' absences and their requests for postponement are repeated, leading to postponements of the process, despite justifications for health reasons.

According to the court, the lawyers' behavior is violating the due process of law. Judge Merkaj stated that, in order to guarantee the continuation of the process, it was decided to take measures against the lawyers who were acting alone, by imposing fines of 20 thousand lek each.

Also, a lawyer was appointed in order to enable the next session to proceed, which was postponed to July 15, at 09:00.

Since the first hearing was scheduled on March 17, nine hearings in this case have failed to take place. Eight of the hearings were postponed due to a lack of lawyers, while one was postponed due to the inability to form a panel.

Twelve of the fifteen defendants in the Fier incinerator and landfill concession corruption scheme were found guilty by the Special Court of First Instance in September 2023. The appeals court returned the case for a retrial in December 2024, but the Supreme Court overturned this decision. The Supreme Court returned the case to the Court of Appeal, assessing that the case should have been resolved directly in the Second Instance.

The incinerator scandal began in 2014 with a decision by the Rama government to declare an environmental emergency as justification for granting the Elbasan incinerator concession. The same group of companies later received concessions for the Fier and Tirana incinerators. Two dozen officials and businessmen were accused of involvement, including former Environment Minister Lefter Koka and former Socialist MP Alqi Bllako. Reporter.al