Opposition MP Gazment Bardhi accused Prime Minister Edi Rama of politically interfering to prevent the arrest of Deputy Prime Minister Belinda Balluku, who is being investigated for public tender abuses.
In a statement to the media, Bardhi said that the decision to reject SPAK's request is not legal, but political.
According to him, the prosecution's evidence is numerous and includes thousands of messages where, according to the opposition, Balluku interferes in tenders to favor certain companies.
"The decision to block SPAK's request was not made because the evidence is weak, but because it will sooner or later lead to Edi Rama," Bardhi declared.
He added that the prime minister is attacking the judiciary and the prosecutor in the case to obstruct investigations that, according to him, could reach the highest levels of government.
" We all saw that Edi Rama slandered everyone and slandered everything that leads to justice from Belinda to himself, but in 80 minutes of speech he never mentioned the real evidence of the Special Prosecution. There are thousands of messages from Belinda Balluku with her subordinates where she interferes in tenders illegally to favor one company, or to deprive another company of its right. In the case of the Llogara tunnel, it is quite clear that the tender was broken so that the Turkish company, the one that Edi Rama and Belinda Balluku had met in Turkey, would later win. The message given by Edi Rama and quoted by Belinda Balluku that another tender be won by a certain businessman is equally clear.
These are the messages that hold Edi Rama hostage. These are the messages that explain his fear today. It is the corrupt system that he has created that forces him to come out against SPAK. Not that he was upset about Belinda Balluku. I am convinced that he would like to escape from her a thousand times.
But Edi Rama is refusing to arrest her and is lynching the prosecutor, so that SPAK will never think of requesting any more arrests or, even worse, of requesting the arrest of Edi Rama himself. The Prime Minister is trying to hide a very simple truth. The decision to block SPAK's request was not made because the evidence was weak, but because the evidence will, sooner or later, lead to Edi Rama.
Even if the SPAK file had not 16 thousand pages, but 166 thousand pages of evidence, Edi Rama would have made the same decision. Because this was not a legal decision. It was a political decision to protect his power, himself. The European principle that Edi Rama failed to fulfill in this case is very simple: in a legal state, no one should be protected from justice because of the power they have. Albania does not need a Parliament that is used as a political shield against justice. Albania needs institutions that guarantee equality before the law ”, said Bardhi.