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"Procrastination and appearance for interest"/ Veliaj's two standards for court hearings

2026-04-03 18:58:00, Aktualitet CNA

"Procrastination and appearance for interest"/ Veliaj's two

Erion Veliaj's postponed hearings under successive pretexts have become countless. Since July, when the file against Veliaj was sent for trial, strategies to avoid facing justice have also begun.

One of his methods of avoiding trials was to change lawyers. In the preliminary hearing on December 12, 2025, he dismissed lawyers Artan Gjermëni and Ermir Beta, claiming that they failed to prevent his imprisonment.

Another method found was to seek time to familiarize himself with the investigative acts, acts that his defense has received since July. This was also the reason for the postponements of the sessions of November 12 and 17, as well as December 2 and 5. Meanwhile, other postponed sessions were the one scheduled for October 28, which was postponed due to Veliaj's lawyers.

The preliminary hearing on October 21 was also postponed due to the lawyers' boycott following the arrest of the lawyer in Elbasan. The October 10 hearing was postponed under the same pretext: a boycott undertaken following the murder of Judge Astrit Kalaja in the courtroom. The preliminary hearing, scheduled for September 29, 2025, was postponed because some of the defendants had not been notified of the hearing.

On January 5 of this year, the hearing at the GJKKO was postponed due to the absence of Veliaj, who claimed that he had not been brought to the hearing on time, as well as his legal counsel. In the wake of the instruments to obstruct the process, it was postponed and the January 19 hearing was postponed again, as Veliaj requested to familiarize himself with the file documents and have contact with lawyer Valentina Teodorescu.

Even after the trial on the merits began, Veliaj has not given up on the delays in the judicial process. The first hearing on the merits was scheduled for March 9, where the mayor used the claim that there was no preliminary hearing. 

The next hearing was scheduled for March 24, which was also postponed. The third hearing was just two days ago, which had no surprises: “Veliaj did not appear, the lawyer is asking for time to familiarize himself with the documents.” The repeated refrain of the 8-month delay of a process that, if Veliaj had had the courage, would have ended.

The mayor, who is facing 13 charges for 5 offenses, is afraid to appear in trials that could end with his conviction, but he goes and appears in the sessions at the Administrative Court, for the lawsuit against the Special Prosecutor, Ols Dado.

This trial is in total conflict of interest, a fact acknowledged by Veliaj's own lawyer, Plarent Ndreca. Specifically, the latter, himself a defendant by SPAK, said that if Dado had not been in conflict with Veliaj's interests, there would have been no lawsuit.

Erion Veliaj's appearance in today's session shows his refusal to give up on the campaigns of insults and attacks against the prosecutor in question since he was handcuffed in his office in the Tirana municipality.

Another fact proven by the appearance in the Administrative Court was Veliaj's two standards for court hearings: He avoids one court, he goes to another. He goes to the latter only for his own interests. / CNA





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