Veliaj in two times/ What he said yesterday about SPAK and what he declares today

2025-02-14 11:32:00, Politikë CNA

Veliaj in two times/ What he said yesterday about SPAK and what he declares

The Mayor of Tirana, Erion Veliaj

The Mayor of Tirana, Erion Veliaj, is known as an incoherent person in his media appearances, especially on issues that affect him.

One of the most contradictory positions is the way he has treated the Special Prosecution Office in his public discourse. Initially, he described SPAK prosecutors as professionals, and finally, after being put in jail, he even called the same prosecutors perverts.

But what changed?!

Quite simply, the attitudes are double-standard when the "ardent" socialist behind independent justice stands in the dock himself.

On April 30, 2024, Erion Veliaj was summoned to SPAK where he testified for about 7 hours regarding the Tirana incinerator affair.

The Mayor of Tirana, after leaving SPAK, stated that he was “with two investigative colleagues” and thanked them for their professionalism. He described the investment in SPAK as an investment in Albania for good. He did not admit that he was under investigation, but claimed that he stayed for a full 7 hours with his “colleagues” in the capacity of a person in the know, even though he had been informed that he was under investigation.

"I thank my colleagues at SPAK, an institution that I had never worked with before. After this meeting, I was convinced that an investment has been made in Albania for good. I was with two investigative colleagues, professionals, and I say that we must strengthen the institutions. I was here as a collaborator. The two investigative colleagues asked me that for investigation and investigative secrecy issues, since the Municipality of Tirana has brought some other evidence, I was kindly asked not to share it with journalists. It will be part of the clarification of my testimony," said Veliaj.

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Finally, the SPAK building and its prosecutors, seen through Veliaj's eyes, are no longer professional! On February 10, 2025, Erion Veliaj was arrested, following investigations conducted by prosecutor Olsi Dado and with a decision made by judge Erion Bani. That same day, Veliaj reacted with a status on social networks attacking the prosecutor, whom he described as a lunatic and a lustful defendant.

"I am not surprised by this absurd end to this long chapter of procrastination, both in the mouths of the media and in the hands of a lunatic prosecutor, which is a living insult to human intelligence. But this was only the first chapter. Now I am no longer obliged to remain silent about what my eyes have seen in my behavior with my family and my ears have heard under the roof of SPAK."

Believe me, it's not easy to remain silent when your skin burns like cigarette butts are being extinguished on your body from the idiotic things a prosecutor says, like the one who didn't leave a witness without blackmailing them. I did it with the belief that this is the right thing to do and I don't regret gritting my teeth.

"I don't believe the media will have the courage to unravel the idiotic accusations one by one, and I am terribly sorry that some entrepreneurs have fallen into the hands of that lustful defendant, because they have sponsored cultural activities for Tirana," said Veliaj.

Immediately after this comment, another one followed the next day with the same offensive language. On February 11, Veliaj recounted how he spent his first night in prison, calling prosecutor Olsi Dado a perverted individual, while the indictment, according to Veliaj, was hallucinatory and criminal perversion.

"But, I want you to be sure that the story that is being told about me as a corrupt criminal, who hid wealth and laundered money with his wife, is fabricated by a perverted individual, the prosecutor in our case. For example, he wrote in the hallucinatory indictment that my wife has spent over half a million euros on online purchases of dresses and jewelry. This pervert, who asked me about my wife's dresses and told me during the interrogation how he went about checking up on his wife at work, did not want to know about my and my wife's explanations. The online purchases are all declared and in an amount several times smaller, they were made for the artistic performances of my wife's cultural foundation. Billing that amount in an indictment, as a river of money poured into luxury, is a criminal perversion. " said Veliaj.

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On February 13, a third reaction came regarding some specifications made against him in the investigative file. Veliaj described as 'a fabrication of a fool' the fact that he learned in the courtroom that his sentence was written in handwriting on the file, something he accused prosecutor Dado of.

At this rate, it is unknown where and how Veliaj's insults towards the institution that until yesterday he called elitist will end, but today, when he himself is under arrest, he is no longer so.

Veliaj, who until yesterday criticized the Democrats who made the same attack on SPAK, is doing the same thing today. He accuses and attacks prosecutors, gathers people to protest on the day his court hearing is held, etc.

The "great" supporter of justice is no longer fit to defend SPAK when he himself is in the same conditions./ CNA