TIRANA Kujtim Miri, cousin of Tirana Appeals Judge Shkelqim Miri, is being held in prison after being accused of the criminal offense of 'Active Corruption'.

The Serious Crimes Court today imposed this security measure on the cousin, who is suspected of having been the judge's realtor, where the latter is accused of changing the criminal offense of a convicted person from 'murder' to serious intentional injury.

The General Prosecutor's Office had been investigating Judge Shkëlqim Miri for almost a year, on suspicions that he had been bribed by Gentian Doda in exchange for his freedom. Investigators suspected that the latter had paid a large sum of money to the judge who changed the qualification of the murder of Gazmir Dedja in Burrel, in 1997, from murder to serious intentional injury.

The police found a considerable amount of money in the latter's apartment, a full 300 million lek, an amount that surprised even the prosecutors themselves, but the investigation into this case will not stop there. The same sources say that other people, including judges, may be arrested. During the search of the apartment, by decision of the First Instance Court for Serious Crimes, carried out by the Corruption Investigation structures of the State Police, 174,810 euros; 10,149,000 lek and 1,000 dollars were found and seized as material evidence.

HOW DID THE PROSECUTOR'S OFFICE FOLLOW THE JUDGE'S FOOTSTEPS?
After failing to prove corruption in the Mati court, which signed off on the change of charges against Doda and paved the way for the convict's release, the prosecution did not close the case, but decided to pursue it further. The convict Gentian Dodes, who kept two cell phones in his cell, was wiretapped. He constantly communicated with his father-in-law Nezir and close friend Alban Buci.

"A friend will come and bring 15 thousand. Find another 15 and hand it over," he writes to Buci. According to the prosecution, the conversations and communications take place during the months of March-April-May. After the bargain was agreed upon, according to which in exchange for the money, Mati's decision would remain in force, Doda demands that the money be handed over, with the date set for May 30. Alban Buci and Doda's father-in-law go to a bar in Fushë Krujës, owned by the judge's cousin. The security camera footage - the file says - shows Buci and Neziri, who also hand over the envelope to Kujtim Miri. The latter is a distant cousin of the judge.

After this moment, Albani writes to his convicted friend: "Don't worry, we handed over the documents. We told him we had no choice but to give up. You will be released in the middle of next month."

WHO IS THE ARRESTED JUDGE?
Shkëlqim Miri has been a judge at the Tirana Court of Appeal since 2010, a member of the High Council of Justice until 2012, and previously a judge of the Court of Appeal in Durrës (before 2010). One of the most important cases that Shkëlqim Miri has tried has been the Gërdec case, where he was part of one of the court processes.

THE SPECTACULAR MURDER
Gentian Doda, the person suspected of having bribed Judge Shkëlqim Miri in exchange for his freedom, was extradited some time ago from Los Angeles, from the United States of America. Gentian Doda and the victim Gazmir Dedja were members of rival groups in Burrel, the conflict between which continued for many years and with many victims. On the day of the 1997 incident, Doda and Dedja had a verbal conflict and then, the defendant shot him with an automatic rifle, seriously wounding him. Asllan Gjoka was accidentally killed by the bullets. The injured man was only able to survive for two days due to his injuries, but he managed to tell his family who had shot him, identifying Gentian Doda.

COURT DECISIONS ON GENTIAN DODDEN
After being tried once and sentenced in absentia to 20 years in prison, in 2012, Doda was extradited from the US and requested a retrial of the case. But in 2013, the Supreme Court dismissed the request, upholding the 20-year prison sentence. But Doda did not give up, taking the request to the Constitutional Court. The latter returned the case to the Supreme Court, which this time accepted the request of the suspected perpetrator of the two murders for a retrial of the case. Furthermore, the Supreme Court ordered a retrial in the Mati Court in 2015 with a different panel of judges than the first time for Doda. In 2016, the Mati Court sentenced Gentian Doda to 8 years in prison, who was again not satisfied and appealed the decision. The Court of Appeal changed the charge to 'intentional injury'. But this was opposed by the prosecution. On July 10, 2017, the Appeals Prosecution appealed to the High Court, requesting the overturning of 2 previous decisions, including the decision of Judge Shkëlqim Miri and the 20-year prison sentence for murder.
(ed.me/BalkanWeb)