The Special Court of Appeals against corruption and organized crime today sentenced former Interior Minister Saimir Tahiri to 5 years in prison on charges of abuse of office, but due to the shortened trial, he will suffer 3 years and 4 months in prison.
The Court of Appeals upheld the decision taken in 2019 by the then Court of Serious Crimes, but with the change that he will have to serve his sentence in prison and not on probation, based on the “constitutional position and function during the time of committing a criminal offense: The extent of the violation of state interests; The extent in time and space of the criminal offense and the dangerousness of the defendant and the offense ”.
The prosecution had sought his sentence of 12 years in prison, bringing with him serious charges: Narcotics trafficking committed in collaboration in the form of a structured criminal group; Participation in a structured criminal group and Committing a crime in a structured criminal group.
But today the Appeal accused him only of abuse of office, given that according to the court, due to his connections with the Habilaj brothers, accused of trafficking large quantities of marijuana from Albania to Italy, has favored their criminal activity.
According to the judge, "the stable connection with Moisi Habilaj and Artan Habiljan is proven in time. Such inexplicable connections with the Minister of Interior, have created the most favorable premise for the infiltration of the criminal group in the ranks of the police and the state, resulting in additional difficulties and obstacles in preventing and combating these criminal activities, accompanied in the same period and with the cooperation of a large number of employees of the State Police and other law enforcement agencies, accompanied by the continuation of the successful exercise of the criminal activity of drug trafficking by Moisi Habilaj, within a criminal organization dealing with this activity ”.
The judge further stated that “The court has found a high degree of spread of illegal activities, support, supply of raw materials for narcotics trafficking, which in the court's assessment creates a direct link between illegal actions of state authorities and the resulting criminal consequence ”. Judge Pellumbi noted that "measures have not been taken to put in full efficiency the highest management structure in the Director of Vlora District Police for the prevention and detection of these criminal offenses", while Mr. Tahiri is proven to have benefited from Habilaj services of unjust benefits and that the abuse of office has damaged the interests of the state. "As a result, he has consumed elements of the criminal offense of abuse of office."
Following this decision, Mr. Tahiri waited in the courtroom to be transferred to the Police Directorate, from where he will then be sent to a regular security prison.
Shortly after the decision, the former Interior Minister made a post on Facebook, talking about an injustice. "I am just sorry it went that way. I am morally calm, I have never broken the law, I have loved every day of my work, I am happy to have done my duty as best I could. "It's just injustice."
The case against former Minister Tahiri went through a lengthy court odyssey. In 2019, he was convicted in the First Instance by the court, which dismissed the charges of the prosecution, finding him guilty of "Abuse of duty." The sentence of 5 years imprisonment was converted into Probation Service for 3 years and 4 months, due to the shortened trial.
The decision was appealed and the Court of Appeals, in its turn, in June 2020, returned it for reconsideration in the First Instance. An appeal against this decision to the High Court followed last year, with the reversal of that decision due to "procedural violations" during the process, and the return of the case to the Court of Appeals with another panel, which is expected to be finalized on 4 short.
The former Interior Minister was put under investigation in November 2017, after Italian authorities cracked down on the Habilaj brothers' organization. In the wiretaps, Mr. Tahiri's name was mentioned several times in conversations between traffickers. The prosecution urgently requested his arrest, but the majority of the left rejected the request, claiming that she had not presented any evidence. In May 2018, Mr. Tahiri resigned from the mandate of deputy. Shortly afterwards, the prosecution requested his arrest again. Mr. Tahiri spent a short period under house arrest, until the Court of Appeals later allowed his investigation to be released, an investigation which was closed in 2019.
