A preliminary hearing is being held at the Criminal Court of Tirana in the case of the mayor of Tirana, Erion Veliaj, his wife Ajola Xoxa and other persons.
Veliaj left the courtroom claiming that he was not heard by the panel: Since you are not listening to me, I am leaving.
Attorney Valentina Teodorescu requested a postponement of the hearing after failing to consult with Veliaj on all investigative acts.
The lawyer argued this request by saying that the taxi only waited for 1 hour at the detention center in Durrës and there was no more time available.
The request was not considered by the judge in the case, Etleva Deda, while Veliaj requested her exclusion after she denied him the right to effective defense.
Meanwhile, the session has not been interrupted as it continues with the final conclusions of the other parties.
His wife Ajola Xoxa, as well as 28 other individuals and companies, part of the "Veliaj" file, have also been sent for trial.
SPAK has listed 13 charges against Veliaj, such as passive corruption, money laundering, failure to declare assets, abuse of office, and bringing items into prison.
The majority of the accusations are of passive corruption committed in 9 cases, in relation to several companies that SPAK says received irregular benefits in the form of monetary sums and real estate, which in turn received construction permits and benefited from public funds from the Municipality of Tirana.
His wife, Ajola Xoxa, is also accused by SPAK of passive corruption in 9 cases related to commercial entities and non-profit organizations, the same as Erion Veliaj.
Xoxa is also accused of money laundering, undeclared assets and concealment of income. The businessmen are accused of active corruption of high-ranking state officials or local elected officials, concealment of income and money laundering.
Former MP Klotilda Bushka is accused of actions that hinder the discovery of the truth, while Fatjon Baci is the Durrës prison guard who gave Erjon Veliaj the phone during his transfer from the cell to the court, on two occasions.