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Arrested in flagrante delicto/ Court hearing continues against journalist who was fined

2026-02-16 11:39:00, Aktualitet CNA

Today, a hearing on the security measure for the fined journalist Elio Lazaj is taking place in the Criminal Chamber of the First Instance Court of General Jurisdiction in Tirana.

The hearing started at 09:00 and the judge in the case is Artan Çupaj.

This session comes after the arrest of journalist Elio Lazaj, who was fined, on Thursday afternoon by the State Police.

Lazaj is accused of the criminal offense of "Coercion through threats and violence for the provision of property."

CNA has discovered that for this criminal offense under the Criminal Code, Article 109/b, Elio Lazaj risks a minimum of two to eight years in prison in the current criminal situation.

CNA has also reported that Elio Lazaj's four phones have been seized, where they are expected to be analyzed to uncover communications and a scheme that goes beyond Elio Lazaj.

Elio Lazaj was arrested after two years of threatening, blackmailing and coercing a state official through communications, but also through his constant writings, simply and solely to satisfy the political appetites of a businessman with the initials AD, but also the political orders that came to attack certain opposition officials.

CNA has further reported that businessman AD, who is interested in witnesses and is known to have close ties to Chief Prosecutor Olsian Çela and other associates of Elio Lazaj, the fine-collector arrested by the police, are circulating materials extensively and are moving to contact the informants, but also demanding that the State Police take and replace the four phones that were seized from the fine-collector journalist.

Not only the contacts with third parties, witnesses or informants of Elio Lazaj, but also the moves made to change phones, have caught the eye of law enforcement agencies and the entire scheme is clearly visible, which was not simply and solely carried out by one hand like the fined journalist Elio Lazaj, but also involved other people, both directed from the Durrës prison, from the taverns of Tirana or people connected to drug trafficking, crime and exposed before SPAK for various criminal offenses./ CNA