#Albania PM leaps to defence of former interior minister at centre of drug-trafficking allegations

Parliamentarians in Albania will on Wednesday (25 October) vote on removing the immunity of the country’s former interior minister Saimir Tahiri (pictured) to allow prosecutors to investigate him on corruption and drug-trafficking charges.

Tahiri has found himself embroiled in a highly public drugs scandal following the recent arrest by Italian police of several drug traffickers from Albania.

They include two people who are distant cousins of Tahiri, a prominent politician who is credited with robust anti-drugs initiatives in Albania, said to one of the biggest open air cultivators of cannabis in Europe.

Italian police, however, have released a sketchy recording which is said to implicate Tahiri.

Albania’s Prime Minister Edi Rama, in his second month of a second four-year term, said on Tuesday (24 October) he hoped Tahiri would prove he had no links to the traffickers and that justice would shed light on the matter.

Tahiri has already been stripped of his party and parliamentary group duties but prosecutors are now demanding that his immunity as an MP be lifted so he could be arrested and prosecuted. Both Rama and Socialist Party MPs oppose lifting the immunity. They say the evidence presented against him lacks any justification for such a harsh measure against any person, let alone a sitting MP, and he should be given a chance to clear his name.

The affair has sparked a strong reaction in Albania with some accusing Albanian prosecutors of waging a “witch hunt” against the former minister.

MPs in Albania will vote on the immunity issue on Wednesday but one Socialist MP said it was unlikely to pass, adding: "We believe this is just retaliation by prosecutors for the vetting process.If we agree to waive immunity in this case, how many other cases will they open?"

The MP, who declined to be named, said that until the prosecution presents MPs with sufficient proof that justifies his arrest, Tahiri should be remain a free person.

Speaking on Tuesday (25 October), he told this website that the evidence brought so by the chief prosecutor before the Albanian parliament “lacks any reasonable justification for taking a man’s freedom, let alone a parliament member who might be the subject of a false attack aimed at silencing his agenda.”

Tahiri was appointed interior minister by Rama when he took office in September 2013.

Rama has said that his ruling Socialist Party majority in parliament will turn down a request from the Prosecution Office for Serious Crimes for a mandate to arrest Tahiri, saying the allegations that he (Tahiri) was involved in drug trafficking currently lacked evidence.

He did say, though, that he would not prevent the authorisation for Tahiri to be prevented from leaving the country, obliging him to present himself for questioning and allowing a search of his house.

The affair occurs at a key time in Albania’s efforts to join the EU and with its prosecution system set to undergo radical changes in the coming months as result of judicial reform, the vetting of prosecutors and the creation of new judicial bodies.

A new Special Prosecutor’s Office for investigating high-level corruption is expected to be established.

Such moves are seen as absolutely vital in reinforcing Albania’s credentials as an EU accession country and removing lingering doubts about the effectiveness of the reform process.

However,the Socialist MP who spoke to this website said attempt by Albania’s political opposition to wage a “witch hunt” against Tahiri raises “significant doubts that there is a joining of forces opposing the vetting process who are now trying to issue payback against him and others for leading this important legislation in the last four years.”

He added: “There is clear contrast between Socialist Party’s efforts to promote vetting and to ensure the reform of the judicial system and the misconduct of many politicians currently leading the opposition who blocked the justice in cases where there was strong evidence against them or their close relatives and did everything in their power to block vetting.”

He went on: “All those who support vetting should not fall prey to a populist onslaught that aims to repeal the most significant piece of legislation in Albania’s bid to join the EU, or to deter those who stand behind it.”

For many, the Tahiri case underlines the need for rigorous action against cannabis use and its illegal derivatives. The PM and the government have stepped up efforts to eradicate Albania’s cannabis cultivation culture and its connection to crime and corruption.

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