Albanian court begins corruption trial against former Prime Minister Sali Berisha
The trial for Berisha, 80, at the Special Court for Corruption and Organized Crime, which covers cases involving senior officials and politicians, also includes his son-in-law and three other people.
In October 2023, prosecutors put Berisha under investigation for allegedly abusing his post to help his son-in-law, Jamarber Malltezi, privatize public land to build 17 apartment buildings in the capital, Tirana.
In September 2024 Berisha was formally charged with corruption in connection with a property deal. He has denied the charges, describing them as political repression ordered by Prime Minister Edi Rama of the left-wing Socialist Party.
On Monday, Berisha reported to the prosecutor's office, as required every two weeks, but said he did not go to the court where he was represented by his lawyers.
'My presence or not is set from my lawyers and naturally in line with the laws,' he told journalists. 'That is a session where my lawyers will present their claims.'
Berisha was prime minister from 2005-2013 and served as president from 1992-1997. He was re-elected as a lawmaker for the center-right conservative Democratic Party in the 2024 parliamentary elections.
The United States government in May 2021 and the United Kingdom in July 2022 barred Berisha and close family members from entering their countries because of his alleged involvement in corruption.
Corruption remains a top issue that has continuously negatively affected Albania since the fall of the communist regime in 1990.
Beside Berisha, former President Ilir Meta and members of Berisha's opposition coalition have also been detained and investigated on corruption charges. Both say the charges are politically motivated, accusing the government of corruption.
In October last year, Tirana started full membership negotiations with Brussels on aligning with the European Union on the rule of law, the functioning of democratic institutions and the fight against corruption. Albania aims to join the bloc by 2030, according to Rama.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
New York Post
5 minutes ago
- New York Post
Hamas issues order to kill hostages if Israeli military attempts rescue, as latest cease-fire talks fail: sources
Hamas is planning to kill the remaining Israeli hostages if the Jewish state sends in troops to rescue them — the latest move by the terror group to undermine peace efforts in Gaza. The terror group has reportedly reinstated its previously abandoned kill order on its captives if Israeli forces or anyone else closes in an attempt to retrieve the 50 remaining hostages in the Gaza Strip, according to the Times of Israel. That policy had been scrapped after a short-lived cease-fire was reached in January, Hamas sources told the London-based Arabic daily Asharq Al-Awsat. Hamas also reportedly boasted that an Israeli military operation to free the hostages would fail, the outlet reported. Advertisement Of the 50 Israeli hostages remaining in Gaza, about 20 are still believed to be alive. The plans come as the US walked away from the latest cease-fire talks in Qatar on Thursday, before slamming the terror group for showing no real interest in striking a deal with Israel. 4 Netanyahu said he would consider 'alternative options' to bring the hostages home after talks broke down. Getty Images Advertisement President Trump's Special Envoy Steve Witkoff said 'alternative options' to bring the hostages home would now have to be considered, after the latest round of negotiations broke down. His comments were echoed by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who said 'together with our US allies, we are now considering alternative options to bring our hostages home' Neither the US or Israel have offered insight into what those alternative options might include. But Trump said he would approve of Israel's military finishing off Hamas in the Gaza Strip. Advertisement 'Hamas didn't really want to make a deal,' Trump told reporters Friday as he departed the White House for a trip to Scotland. 'I think they want to die.' 4 The war in Gaza has been raging for almost two years. AP The terror group responded by calling Trump's comments 'surprising' on Saturday. Advertisement 4 Thousands rallied in Tel Aviv calling for the release of all remaining hostages. AFP via Getty Images 'Trump's remarks are particularly surprising, especially as they come at a time when progress had been made on some of the negotiation files,' a Hamas official Taher al-Nunu told AFP. Meanwhile, thousands of protestors in Tel Aviv marched to the US embassy on Saturday night, for the second week in a row, calling for a truce that releases the remaining hostages and puts an end to the war in Gaza. Hamas captured 251 hostages during the brutal Oct. 7, 2023, terrorist attacks. Of those, 148 were released following negotiations — 140 alive, eight dead. 4 Protestors in Tel Aviv are urging for a cease-fire deal. AP The Israeli military has only been able to rescue eight hostages alive. 'Every time the talks stop, every time a deal blows up, those who pay the price are the hostages,' Or Levy, who was released from Hamas captivity in February, told the crowd. Advertisement 'I can tell you what it's like to live 50 meters underground, without daylight, without sky, just constant fear that everything will end … what they're still going through there, can't really be understood.'
The Hill
5 minutes ago
- The Hill
Americans split on party lines over support for Supreme Court: Survey
Americans are split along party lines over their support for the Supreme Court, with the majority of Republicans approving of its actions, according to a Friday survey. The new YouGov poll found that 45 percent of respondents strongly or somewhat disapprove of the Supreme Court's work, while 40 percent said they strongly or somewhat approve. Some 14 percent were unsure. The majority of GOP voters, 73 percent, strongly or somewhat approve of the Supreme Court's handling of recent cases, far higher than 34 percent of independents and just 14 percent of Democrats. Liberal Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor had the highest net favorability rating on the court's bench with plus 4 percentage points. Ketanji Brown Jackson had a plus 2 percentage point rating. The poll found that Democratic Party voters view Sotomayor the most favorably, while they see Clarence Thomas and Brett Kavanaugh as the most unfavorable. Among Republicans, Kavanaugh and Thomas were seen as the most favorable, while Brown Jackson and Sotomayor were viewed the least favorably. Around a quarter, 26 percent, of respondents said the Supreme Court has too much power, a decrease from last year when 42 percent of Americans said the same thing. The sentiment has dropped the most among Democrats, going from 73 percent in 2024 to 41 percent this year. About 22 percent of independents said the nation's highest court has too much power, a 16-point decrease from a year ago when it was 38 percent. Most respondents, 55 percent, said the Supreme Court has the right amount of power. A recent poll from AP-NORC Research Center found Americans' confidence in the Supreme Court has increased slightly, but that around one-in-three adults are still wary of the country's highest court. The Supreme Court's approval was at 51 percent among Americans in February, according to a Marquette Law School national poll. The other 49 percent disapproved. Friday's survey was conducted between June 30 and July 2 among 1,043 U.S. adults. The margin of error was around 4 percentage points.
Newsweek
6 minutes ago
- Newsweek
Israel Kills Over a Dozen Seeking Food Aid in Gaza as Famine Fears Grow
Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources. Newsweek AI is in beta. Translations may contain inaccuracies—please refer to the original content. Israeli fire killed at least a dozen people in the past 24 hours as they sought food aid in Gaza, the Associated Press reported. The report comes amid a deepening starvation crisis in Gaza and less than a week after the killing of more than 85 Palestinians by Israeli forces at a food aid checkpoint. Newsweek has reached out to the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) for comment via email and WhatsApp on Saturday. Why It Matters Humanitarian aid groups have warned for months that Gaza is nearing famine. Israel, which controls the entry of aid into the enclave, has severely restricted access—tightening constraints even further since the collapse of the last ceasefire in March. From March to mid-May, no aid was allowed into Gaza. In addition to limited supplies, the distribution of aid has turned deadly, with human rights groups criticizing the U.S. and Israeli-backed Gaza Humanitarian Fund's (GHF) approach, which has forced Palestinians into fenced mazes and exposed aid seekers to Israeli fire. The United Nations estimates that Israel has killed more than 1,000 Palestinians trying to get food since May. Reports and images of starving Gazans comes as the Trump administration cut short ceasefire negotiations on Thursday, stating Hamas "shows a lack of desire" to reach a truce with Israel. Israel has repeatedly said that aid deliveries must be delivered in a "safe framework" that does not give supplies to Hamas, and notes that GHF is bringing food into Gaza. Israel has used aid restrictions as a pressure tactic to bring Hamas, a Palestinian militant group, to negotiate the release of hostages that were taken in its October 7, 2023, attack on Israel. What To Know Overnight Friday and into Saturday, Israeli airstrikes and gunfire killed at least 42 people, the AP reported. Dozens were shot at waiting for aid trucks near the Zikim crossing, in northern Gaza. Israel's military said it fired warning shots to distance a crowd "in response to an immediate threat" and it was not aware of any casualties. On July 20, Israel shot at crowds of food seekers in the same area, killing 85. One witness, Sherif Abu Aisha, told the AP on Saturday that people started to run when they saw a light they assumed was an aid truck, but as they approached they discovered it was an Israeli tank. The tank then began firing on the people, killing some. Recent reports and images of emaciated children and adults in Gaza come as hunger-related deaths continue to rise. The Gaza Health Ministry, which is run by Hamas, said at least 127 people, including 85 children, have died from starvation. The ministry reported that six died over the past 24 hours, among them a 5-month-old baby. "Severe acute malnutrition is surging and almost a third of families miss meals for days at a time," the U.N. World Food Programme warned. One in five children in Gaza City is malnourished, Philippe Lazzarini, commissioner general for the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestinian Refugees (UNRWA), noted. Human rights, aid and medical organizations warn that malnutrition weakens the immune system, increasing the risk of disease and potentially leading to death—especially among children and vulnerable populations. Israel has repeatedly rejected claims of forced starvation in Gaza. In May, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu denied people are starving in Gaza, saying that Israel takes "thousands of prisoners" from Gaza and photograph them, and you "don't see one, not one, emaciated." Palestinians carry sacks of flour unloaded from a humanitarian aid convoy that reached Gaza City from the northern Gaza Strip on July 26. Palestinians carry sacks of flour unloaded from a humanitarian aid convoy that reached Gaza City from the northern Gaza Strip on July 26. AP Photo/Jehad Alshrafi What People Are Saying Edouard Beigbeder, UNICEF regional director for the Middle East and North Africa, said in a Thursday statement: "Severe malnutrition is spreading among children faster than aid can reach them, and the world is watching it happen ... Children must be protected - not killed, and not left to starve." Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu wrote in an X, formerly Twitter, post Friday: "Special Envoy to the Middle East Steve Witkoff got it right. Hamas is the obstacle to a hostage release deal. Together with our U.S. allies, we are now considering alternative options to bring our hostages home, end Hamas's terror rule, and secure lasting peace for Israel and our region." Philippe Lazzarini, UNRWA commissioner, wrote in a Friday X post: "One in every five children is malnourished in Gaza City as cases increase every day. When child malnutrition surges, coping mechanisms fail, access to food & care disappears, famine silently begins to unfold. Most children our teams are seeing are emaciated, weak and at high risk of dying if they don't get the treatment they urgently need. More than 100 people, the vast majority of them children, have reportedly died of hunger." Jeremy Konyndyk, president of Refugees International, told Vox in a Friday article: "When you have a population that is that stressed, whose health has deteriorated that much, or is [already] in such an advanced state of population-level food deprivation and malnutrition, then things can turn bad very rapidly, because there is nothing to stand in the way of starvation... In most famines, we see mortality coming from a mix of both outright starvation and opportunistic infections." He added: "Famines have a momentum, and the longer that they are allowed to deepen, the harder they are to reverse." Secretary General of the United Nations Antonio Guterres wrote in an X post on Friday: "Gaza is more than a humanitarian crisis – it is a moral crisis that challenges the global conscience. We will continue to speak out. But words don't feed hungry children. The @UN stands ready to make the most of a ceasefire to dramatically scale up humanitarian operations." Senator Bernie Sanders, a Vermont independent, wrote in a Friday X post: "The Netanyahu government's extermination of Gaza intensifies. Malnutrition is rampant, children are starving to death, people are shot while waiting for meager food rations — and US weapons allow it to happen. Trump and Congress must act NOW. Stop the slaughter. Feed the people." The AP, AFP, BBC, and Reuters all said in a joint statement this week: "We are desperately concerned for our journalists in Gaza, who are increasingly unable to feed themselves and their families. For many months, these independent journalists have been the world's eyes and ears on the ground in Gaza. They are now facing the same dire circumstances as those they are covering. Journalists endure many deprivations and hardships in warzones. We are deeply alarmed that the threat of starvation is now one of them." What Happens Next? France and Saudi Arabia are set to co-chair a previously postponed United Nations conference on the issue of a Palestinian state, humanitarian aid, and hostage release next week. International pressure for a ceasefire and expanded humanitarian aid in Gaza continues to mount. On Saturday, Israel's military announced aid airdrops including flour and canned foods will commence in Gaza. Humanitarian corridors for U.N. convoys will also be established, although it was not specified when and where.
