January 21/ Rama: SPAK pretended that this issue did not exist, even after 15 years it did not file any charges

2026-01-21 10:30:00, Aktualitet CNA

January 21/ Rama: SPAK pretended that this issue did not exist, even after 15

Prime Minister Edi Rama, at the tribute ceremony for the 4 protesters killed on January 21, also took aim at the Special Prosecution Office.

During his speech, Rama stated that SPAK acted as if this issue did not exist and only 15 years after the crime, began questioning several people about this murder.

He said that for him it is unimaginable that the justice reform that was born out of a need for justice for January 21st, did not bring any charges even after 15 years for the murders on the boulevard.

"They were barely called to be questioned after almost 15 years, as it is 15 years today. I have known and said, it is in many chronicles, that January 21 as a state crime falls into that category for which history teaches us that justice is long delayed but never forgotten."

The history of state crimes is interesting because no state crime goes unpunished. It is very evident, on the other hand, in the annals of that history how long punishment for a state crime takes.

But even with the attempt to find solace in the history of the democratic world against state crimes, I have not considered that the justice reform since January 21st as our need for justice has been one of the reasons to move the reform forward. It is unimaginable to me that they would not file any charges for January 21st even after 15 years for the murders on the main boulevard.

Even though SPAK pretended that this issue did not exist, when it had to, it investigated and filed charges for a year for open cases, either with an anonymous letter, or it consumed energy for years by holding state-interest jobs and state employees hostage with issues that are so strained that satirical novels could be written, not final court decisions of guilt.

"It was the indomitable Mark Nika, the uncle of the late Alex Nika, who took the case to Strasbourg and turned the stone over on the grave where justice had locked up January 21, after an ugly criminal farce like the trial that was held in connection with the murders," said Rama.

The Prime Minister stated that only thanks to the insistence of the victims' families was the file of the most brutal crime in the history of Albanian democracy forcibly placed on the SPAK table.

"Only then, and thanks to the persistence of the victims' families through Mark, was the file of the most brutal crime in the history of Albanian democracy placed on the SPAK table, he submitted an authentic material of voices recorded at the scene from the security forces' communication channels, which he kept hidden out of total distrust of the justice institutions and out of shame that that material might be "lost" just as many traces have been "lost".

January 21st has a specificity, while numerous traces have been lost, the wolf is visible to all eyes. The Strasbourg Court highlighted as a violation of the European Convention both the unjustified use of deadly force and the lack of a legitimate basis for protecting the Prime Minister's office with deadly force, asking the authorities to clarify the incident.

"The Supreme Court has formulated the most complete and undisputed document professionally and morally and has set in motion the investigations that have resumed," the Prime Minister emphasized.

Rama said that the need for justice for this tragedy will triumph no matter what.

"While hope dies last and the need for justice never dies even when hope dies. I don't know how many years it will take for the screaming injustice of January 21st to end, for anyone who seeks justice, I know for sure that the screams of this injustice will never die, the need for justice for this tragedy will triumph because it doesn't," said Rama./ CNA