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Interrogation of journalist Elton Qyno, SPAK issues official announcement

2023-12-14 16:17:00, Kronika CNA

The Special Prosecutor's Office is conducting investigations within the framework of criminal proceedings no. 75 of 2022, in which persons with high social risk are being investigated for serious criminal offenses and which have resulted in the murder of several persons, criminal offenses which were carried out in the form of special cooperation of the structured criminal group.

On 10.12.2023, articles written by journalist Elton Qyno were found to have been published on the audiovisual media website Ora News (oranews.tv), which refer to some communications made by persons who are subject to preliminary investigations. On 11.12.2023, the articles were also published by other media.

In the articles that were published by the journalist Elton Qyno, it was clearly established that the text and content of the conversations in these publications contained some parts of the communications that the associate of justice Nuredin Dumani made with some other people (unidentified until now by the investigations) in encrypted platform SkyECC, which are the subject of preliminary investigations.

From the verification of the publications of the above-mentioned articles, through the consultation with the data of the investigative acts of SkyECC communications available to the Special Prosecutor's Office, it emerged that the conversations made public in the media have not yet been documented in procedural acts by the Special Prosecutor's Office within of criminal proceedings no. 75/2022. Also, some of the writings evidenced in the media articles corresponded with the content of communications that Nuredin Dumani made with other users on the SkyECC platform (unidentified so far), communications that only the Special Prosecutor's Office currently has, as procedural acts of preliminary investigation.

This situation presented in the media created doubts that we could be in front of the elements of the criminal offences: "Disclosure of acts or secret data" and "Prohibition of providing and announcing data in violation of the law", provided respectively by articles 295 /a paragraph (3) and 313/b point (1) of the Criminal Code. On this, the Special Prosecutor's Office started investigations and registered criminal proceedings no. 245/2023, for the commission of the above two criminal offenses.

Based on the fact that the publisher of the above articles was Elton Qyno / journalist, on 13.12.2023 he was invited to appear at SPAK, to receive a statement as a person aware of the facts that are the subject of the investigation, invitation to which the journalist responded positively and appeared. After the reasons for the interrogation were made known to him, as well as the provision of Article 159 of the Criminal Procedure Code (the right not to declare due to the profession of a journalist), he was asked to explain how he had secured investigative documents that constitute an investigative secret, the disclosure of which to third parties through publication is prohibited by procedural law. In the same way, he was made aware of the necessity that has arisen to identify and find documents or acts in the original or in any other form that he had.

The citizen Elton Qyno replied that the source was confidential and he could not declare it due to the secrecy related to the profession. In this circumstance, the journalist declared in writing that the acts and documents he had were secret related to his profession (provision of Article 211 point 1 of the Criminal Code) and he could not give them. Considering this as unfounded and with the aim of finding documents, material evidence, traces or items belonging to the criminal offense, he was invited by the investigators to examine the phone(s) he was using, to which the journalist responded negatively.

Please note that the Special Prosecutor's Office, with the order dated 14.06.2022, has ordered the ban on the publication of procedural acts for this criminal proceeding and this act has been communicated to the citizen Elton Qyno.

At the request of the Special Prosecutor's Office, the Special Court of First Instance for Corruption and Organized Crime with decision no. 501 dated 13.12.2023 and no. 502 dated 13.12.2023 decided to permit the personal search of citizen Elton Qyno, the permission to search of his apartment and office, at the workplace, Ora News TV Offices. The court decision also allowed the seizure of computer data in the computer system at the workplace and in his home.

Pursuant to court decisions, the personal search yielded a negative result, no mobile phone was found; from the control in the apartment and in the work premises, documents and electronic items were found and seized, which are suspected to have traces of the criminal offense that is being investigated. Meanwhile, before midnight, with the help of special operational tracking devices, it became possible to find two mobile phones in a Coffee Bar located close to the SPAK Building, which, after being made available to him, were recognized by him as his stuff.

The two mobile phones, electronic devices and paper documentation were seized in compliance with the court's decision, to undergo further examinations. At the end of the actions ordered by the court and already executed, the journalist Elton Qyno left the premises of SPAK to his apartment.

The Special Prosecutor's Office has carried out procedural actions in full accordance with the requirements of the Code of Criminal Procedure, as well as in implementation of decisions no. 501 dated 13.12.2023 and no. 502 dated 13.12.2023 of the Special Court of First Instance for Corruption and Organized Crime.

The Special Prosecutor's Office thanks every journalist for the contribution of covering the news around us, every professional journalist who serves the public and the truth, reporting ethically and in compliance with the laws in force, seriously considering the respect of investigative secrecy and data protection personal.