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SP-Rithemelimi/ SPAK cooperation: Criminal amnesty shortened the sentence of dozens of corrupt officials

2024-04-30 21:12:51Aktualitet SHKRUAR NGA VLADIMIR KARAJ
SP-Rithemelimi/ SPAK cooperation: Criminal amnesty shortened the sentence of
Gaz Bardhi and Ulsi Manja

Experts say that the agreement with the political parties on the law on amnesty, violated the reform in Justice and constitutes a negative message to the institutions that must fight corruption.

In an official response to BIRN on Tuesday, the Special Prosecutor's Office announced that around 100 people convicted by the Special Court Against Organized Crime and Corruption benefited from the "Amnesty" law, approved by consensus between the majority and the opposition on April 4. in the Assembly.

Among them, 40 convicted for exercising illegal influence were pardoned, while another 60 convicted for criminal offenses of corruption, violation of equality in tenders or abuse of office received reduced sentences.

According to the data that SPAK made available, 16 public officials convicted of corruption, 11 others for violation of equality in tenders, as well as 7 judges and prosecutors also convicted of criminal offenses of corruption benefited from reduced sentences. Two of the beneficiaries were convicted of the criminal offense of abuse of office.

For political and legislative experts, the "Amnesty" law and its consequences are a wrong message and a coordinated effort by political parties in the country to sabotage special institutions and the fight against corruption.

"The recent amnesty is the third step in many attempts to undermine the Justice Reform," said Zef Preçi, executive director of the Albanian Center for Economic Research.

Afrim Krasniqi, director of the Institute for Political Studies goes further, as he raises doubts about the way this law was implemented and asks SPAK to investigate whether or not there is a conflict of interest behind the formulation.

Referring to the lack of public consultation and the way the law was negotiated, Krasniqi emphasizes that there are "reasonable doubts that we are dealing with a process with personal and often corrupt influences".

Asked by BIRN about the release of corrupt officials and magistrates, the Minister of Justice, Ulsi Manja, did not respond until the publication of this article, while the head of the parliamentary group of the Democratic Party, Gazmend Bardhi, did not comment.

The vows of Manja and Bardhi

The government's draft law was held hostage for lack of votes for several months and was changed in the Laws Committee by the majority of deputies, including subjects convicted by the Special Court in the categories of beneficiaries.

After an agreement between the majority and part of the opposition, the Assembly managed to approve the law "On criminal amnesty" on April 4 with 116 votes in favor in principle and 110 votes in the final vote.

Put under public pressure that through the "Amnesty" law they were pardoning those convicted of corruption, undermining the work of the Court and the Special Prosecutor's Office, the Minister of Justice Ulsi Manja and the chairman of the Parliamentary Group of the Democratic Party, Gazment Bardhi, promised several times that this it wouldn't happen.

"...Open your eyes and read the law, because you are a lawyer! "No one convicted by the Special Court Against Corruption and Organized Crime will benefit from this amnesty or have their sentence reduced," said the Minister of Justice, Ulsi Manja, in the April 4 parliamentary session.

Even Gazment Bardhi took a similar stance, a rare event for the fragile Albanian parliamentary democracy.

"With our amendment and the full analysis carried out by experts, no person, high official, convicted of corruption, convicted of abuse of tenders, convicted of misuse of concessions or public-private partnerships, involved in acts of active corruption or passive, does not benefit from the amnesty," promised Bardhi.

Convicted by GJKKO benefit from the amnesty

The promises of the Minister of Justice, Ulsi Manja and representatives of the opposition that the "Amnesty" law did not affect corrupt officials, were denied as soon as the law entered into force.

The Special Prosecutor's Office said in an official response to BIRN that after the approval of the law, it made a detailed data analysis in cooperation with other involved institutions. SPAK announced that according to the analysis, 100 people were beneficiaries according to the law.

"From this update of the analysis, it is concluded that there are about 40 people who can benefit from the exemption of the sentence and about 60 people who can be subject to the benefit of the reduction of the sentence according to this law," reads the response of SPAK .

SPAK clarifies that 40 are beneficiaries of the amnesty, whose sentence is completely forgiven. They were convicted by the Special Court in 2023 and 2024 for the charge of "exerting illegal influence on persons exercising public functions". Bribe-givers are mainly included in this category.

In addition to them, 60 convicted for offenses mainly related to corruption in the years 2023 and 2024 benefit from reduced sentences. SPAK informs that of these, 16 are sentenced to prison and the rest have alternative forms of punishment.

"The number of people who have been released from prison as a result of the reduction of the sentence is 15 people," SPAK said. "In the meantime, there is 1 person who received a reduced sentence of 1 year and 6 months in prison, but continues the sentence for the rest of the unserved part of the sentence", added SPAK.

Among the people who benefit from the amnesty are 7 members of the justice system convicted for the charge of "Passive corruption of judges, prosecutors and other officials of the justice bodies".

According to the data from SPAK, in the list of 60 beneficiaries, only 8 are for criminal offenses that do not involve corruption or public functions. There are 5 convicted for drug cultivation and production, 1 convicted for providing assistance in crossing the border and 2 others convicted for calls and propaganda that incites terrorism.

Message against SPAK

In 2016, Albania undertook a deep reform of the justice system, with the aim of creating an independent system that could fight corruption, one of the main concerns of citizens.

The Reform package included the creation of the Special Court Against Organized Crime and Corruption, the Special Prosecutor's Office and a special police structure known as the National Bureau of Investigation. Their main task was the investigation and punishment of the corrupt public administration and at high levels of the state. After delays for several years, mainly due to political disagreements, special institutions for the fight against corruption began to function with the creation of SPAK in December 2019.

Four years later, when the special structures began to give the first results in this process, with the proposal of the Ministry of Justice and with the almost unanimous support of the deputies of the Assembly - including the opposition, the amnesty law was approved. The latter debatably, despite public objections, included criminal offenses that are investigated and judged by anti-corruption structures.

For political and legislative experts, this is an attempt to discourage these institutions and undermine the Justice Reform.

"At the moment when so much is expected from him [SPAK], to amnesty individuals who are the subject of an investigation or have been tried, I think it is a completely wrong message and damages the image and the very integrity of the Justice Reform," says Afrim Krasniqi .

Krasniqi reasons that the positions of the parties in these processes are questionable and that SPAK should investigate this decision-making, to clarify whether we are dealing with a normal procedure or "alishverish".

"SPAK had launched investigations to see if the parliament's decision-making is procedural parliamentary decision-making or if there are hidden conflicts of interest and personal needs of certain lobbying deputies," he said.

For his part, Zef Preçi from the Albanian Center for Economic Research says that the amnesty is a hypocrisy of the entire political class. He says with irony that whenever it comes to raising obstacles for SPAK, there is an understanding between the majority and the parliamentary minority.

"There is a strange understanding between the majority and the opposition when it comes to controlling these independent institutions, an understanding that is not seen regarding inactive institutions like ILDKPKI and the like," he said.

Preçi says that this is some attempt by politics, mainly by the majority, to sabotage SPAK. According to him, the first step was to fill SPAK with files from the so-called Operation Force of Law, which "spent human and financial resources, but did not bring any public good". Secondly, he points out the legal provisions for abuse of office and the reduction of punishment, which enables officials to procedurally close the cases in this category.

Similarly, Rigels Xhemollari from Qëndresa Cijetare sees the political parties united in a dubious agreement against SPAK.

"I see the amnesty as a declaration of war against the new justice by the old political class. The only union that politics had, at the height of divisions, was the battle against SPAK," he says.

Xhemollari describes the amnesty or the reduction of punishment for the corrupt as a serious act.

"It doesn't matter what status the public officials have, or which court tried them. In a country where corruption and impunity has been the main problem of the country, undoing the decisions of the institutions that started punishing corruption and won the trust of the public is considered a betrayal of fellow citizens," he concluded.


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