Killed in the courtroom, Astrit Kala's family demands that the former magistrate be declared a "Martyr of the Homeland"

2026-03-08 21:12:02Aktualitet SHKRUAR NGA REDAKSIA VOX
Astrit Kalaja

The family of Astrit Kalasa, killed in the Court of Appeals in Tirana, demands that the state declare the judge a "Martyr of the Homeland".

In the documents available to TCH, the wife of the judge with a 32-year career in the justice system requested the opening of procedures by the Ministry of Justice during the time when this institution was headed by Besfort Lamallari.

"The judge was killed in the courtroom during the announcement of the verdict on behalf of the Republic, by a party to the proceedings who pulled out a gun and shot him immediately after the announcement," the request states.

The family insists that order and peace are not only ensured by the police but also by the courts, who are already preparing to address the central commission on the status of the martyr, an option that paves the way for a lawsuit in the administrative court.

Judge Kalaja was murdered by Elvis Shkëmbi, whose uncle was a party to a several-year-old trial launched in the city of Shkodra. Both suspects are in prison, and so far the investigations have not been closed because the capital's prosecution is awaiting the expertise of the phone to understand whether there was any collaboration between the suspects in committing the crime.

The murder of judge Astrit Kala drew attention to the problem of security in the judiciary and the prosecution, as it turns out that judicial personnel in this court had been threatened before during the announcement of the verdict.

Three judges are parties to the open trial for their threat after the perpetrator was identified and is under indictment. However, security conditions continue to remain the same./ TCH

 

 


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