How the judicial processes of the incinerator affair are being blocked in the Appeal

Prej muajit maj, fillimi i proceseve për incineratorin e Elbasanit dhe atë të Fierit mbetet pezull në Gjykatën e Apelit për shkak të mungesës së avokatëve apo kërkesave të tyre për shtyrje. BIRN

2024-10-12 09:10:00, Aktualitet CNA

How the judicial processes of the incinerator affair are being blocked in the

The Special Court of Appeal found it impossible to open the trial against the defendants for the affairs of the incinerators of Fier and Elbasan due to the non-appearance of the lawyers or their requests for adjournment.

The next session for the Fier incinerator process was postponed on Friday, October 11, as the legal representative of the former Minister of Environment, Lefter Koka, lawyer Julian Mërtiri, was not present. The chairman of the trial panel, judge Engert Pëllumbi clarified that the lawyer Mërtiri had requested the postponement of the session, as it was impossible for him to be present for health reasons. He had also presented the documentation proving his incapacity for work for three days.

According to judge Pëllumbi, Koka's principally appointed lawyer, Denis Karaj, had announced that he could not appear at the hearing, as he was traveling abroad and had sent photos of the travel tickets by email. Even the defendant Koka himself was not present in the hall.

Although all the other defendants in the process had their legal representatives present, the absence of Koka's defenders made it impossible to continue the session. The trial panel retired to the deliberation room and decided to adjourn the session to October 18, at 11:00.

With similar justifications, 11 sessions have been postponed since May 14 for the issue of the Fier incinerator. Also, at the request of the lawyers or their absence, 8 hearings for the Elbasani incinerator have been postponed, from June 5 onwards.

Most of the defendants for the incinerator affairs have left the cells, as the sentences given in the first degree have been fulfilled with the time of detention, while for others accused in these cases, among them the former Minister of the Environment, Lefter Koka, follows that the prison days they are serving be counted by a day and a half.

According to Article 57 of the Criminal Code, one day of detention is equal to one and a half days of ordinary imprisonment. Under these conditions, the stay in custody shortens the stay in the cell of the defendants who have not yet been released.

Twelve of the fifteen accused in the Fier incinerator and landfill concession scheme were found guilty on September 25, 2023.

After the announcement of the decision by the court, most of the accused who were declared guilty left the cells after the court converted their sentences to probation while only Koka, former deputy Alqi Blako and Loran Duzha, former administrator of the Fier concession, remained in prison.

Former Environment Minister Lefter Koka has been in custody since December 2021, when he was sentenced to 6 years and eight months in prison. He received a summary judgment while pleading not guilty to the charges. Koka was tried separately for the incinerator of Elbasan, where in this case he was declared guilty by decision dated October 5, 2023 and was sentenced to 5 years and 8 months in prison.

Businessman Klodian Zoto, who has been on the run since he was declared wanted in December 2021, received the highest sentence of 8 years in prison for the Fier incinerator affair. Among the convicts is the former deputy of the Socialist Party, Alqi Blako.