The preliminary hearing for the case of Ilir Meta, Monika Kryemadhi and three others has been postponed to November 17, at 09:00. The reason was the request of Meta's lawyer for the exclusion of judge Irena Gjoka. He said in a statement to the media that the court must first express its opinion on this request made earlier by them.
According to him, she is in a conflict of interest because an investigation has been launched against her following Sali Berisha's continued accusations that she has concealed a conviction for document forgery in Greece.
"I come here to conduct a fair legal process. If prosecutors and judges go crazy and give and take evidence with each other that does not exist and is illegal... I do not understand. I asked the court not to accept any request from the Prosecution to accept new evidence at this procedural moment but to return the file for further investigation and the prosecution to conduct the procedure. Let us be informed and let the file come to the court again, we have the way of receiving evidence from the court. I left the process because I am waiting for the court to express its opinion on the exclusion of Mrs. Gjoka. I will come to the session. I will not be absent, and my colleague will even come to the next one. There is no chance that Irena Gjoka will judge this case, for many reasons she cannot judge it, she is in a conflict of interest, Mr. Duman is among the three prosecutors who signed the request to transfer the file for trial. Duman said that a proceeding has been registered against Mrs. Gjoka criminal and Olsian Çela has said before the assembly that we have completed the verifications and it turns out that Gjoka has problems with justice in the Greek state. How can Gjoka give a decision against Altin Dumani? We demand that he be replaced with another judge. I can't imagine how Mrs. Gjoka will get up in the morning.... I am not boycotting, I have made a request, I am waiting for the court's decision on what it will decide with Mrs. Gjoka," he said.
Meanwhile, Meta's request for the termination of the security measure of arrest in prison was also to be reviewed in the Appeal today, but the hearing was postponed. The reason was the submission of a request by the defense for the exclusion of judge Saida Dollani with the argument that last month she judged the case for the revocation of the measure that decided the refusal. Lawyer Kujtim Cakrani claimed that the same judge cannot judge the same person on two different requests.
The previous preliminary hearing was postponed due to the absence of Kryemadhi's lawyer. During the hearing, Judge Gjoka also decided to suspend the pre-trial detention terms for the former president. Meta's legal defense accused the judge of being under pressure from SPAK prosecutors, who are investigating charges previously filed by Sali Berisha regarding a hidden conviction for document forgery in Greece.