Singer Elsa Lila has told for the first time how she received the news of her mother's murder in 1997, just five months after she had left Albania on the Italian embassy helicopter.
In a heartfelt and emotional confession to Grida Duma on the "Grida Duma Podcast", she tells how she was unable to see her mother because the borders were closed.
"Italy was my first prison. They didn't let me go back, the borders were closed. I just wanted to see my mother, but I couldn't. I only saw a stone when I returned in October ," she confessed.
Even today, after many years, Elsa says her brain has not yet accepted the loss.
"I think of her as being somewhere, on another continent, living her own life ," says the singer.
Elsa Lila has told for the first time how she experienced the moment she was unjustly accused in Italy.
"You have a 20-year sentence and above charge and the first thing I thought was: what could I have done to deserve this? Maybe a traffic ticket, but it's not worth 20 years," the singer said of her experiences with the carabinieri.
Elsa Lila tells how she was stunned by the handcuffs and the dilemmas she went through during her arrest:
"We all have dark and bright sides. We've all hurt someone, maybe unintentionally. I haven't always been perfect either, but by no means deserve prison," the singer said.
Singer Elsa Lila has described her experiences during the months of confrontation with Italian justice in her book "Welcome to Rebibbia".