Former Minister of Health, Ilir Beqaj, in prison for the sterilization concession and abuse of SASPAC funds, participated in the hearing that took place today at the GJKKO. Beqaj said that the complaint against him regarding the "Sterilization" file was filed by Endri Shabani, currently the People's Advocate.

Beqaj referred to the election of the People's Advocate with the votes of the Socialist Party, where his criticism of his former colleagues was not lacking. Not hiding his disappointment with the Socialists, he said that the vote for Shabani was accompanied by jubilant and synchronized applause, as if an important law had been passed.

But Beqaj also had reservations about Shabani's "kiss" towards the Democrats who were protesting in the session.

"The initiator of this process, the one who filed the report today is the People's Advocate and the first on the list of witnesses. He has made public statements about me. He is happy that I am in handcuffs. He said that he knew that the case was dismissed, but he filed the report. Those who elected him know it themselves. I personally will face him here in the process. What surprised me was not the vote. It was the kiss. Inhuman in front of those deputies," he said.

Beqaj was interrupted by the Court to not continue further because the statements were not related to the process.

Ilir Beqaj in the GJKKO:

Dear Court,

Today I am not asking for privilege. I am asking for a minimum that the law requires and the dignity of a due process requires.

From reading Article 26 of the General Prison Regulations, it does not appear that a computer is prohibited for a pre-detainee to keep, even in residential premises. What is prohibited is the transmission and communication device. A computer is a device for storing and processing data. I learned this 40 years ago, when I began my studies in computer science. The printer, too, is not prohibited.

So let's put it simply: if the law doesn't prohibit it, no one has the right to prohibit it by "custom," by "oral order," or by administrative fears.

Therefore, I requested that I be provided with a computer and printer to prepare my defense, without communication/transmission equipment, with any reasonable control that the court and prison administration deem necessary because effective defense is not a decoration in the Constitution; it is the foundation of justice.

And I'm saying it clearly. Don't turn the right to defense into a formality of papers, stamps, and waiting!

Don't turn detention into blindness and silence!

Don't leave the responsibility to each other:

"I don't have it",

"the prosecution has it",

"the administration has it",

"the directorate has it",

"the system has it", "

"It's the law."

The system is not anyone. The system is you: the institutions that decide and that respond.

Since this is a public hearing, taking advantage of the presence of the media, I am also forwarding this request to:

– all Prosecutor's Offices;

– all Courts;

– Ministry of Justice;

– Parliamentary Committees on Laws and Human Rights;

– Albanian Helsinki Committee;

– The Ombudsman.

Enable detainees with the security measure "prison arrest" to prepare a real defense. There is no legal obstacle. There is only a lack of will and "hand washing". Enough hiding behind your finger.

Honorable jury,

Developments outside of this session in recent days make this process one of the most special and, unfortunately, one of the most significant for how the rule of law functions (or does not function).

Criminal proceedings No. 13/2020 were registered based on a complaint filed by the person who, according to public announcements, was elected Ombudsman in Albania a few days ago.

The report was made on December 23, 2019. Like today, exactly 6 years ago.

And today this person is among the first on the list of witnesses for the prosecution.

So, today we have this paradox:

The one who should be the voice of the citizen in the face of power, appears in the line of indictment;

The one who should be a guarantee against arbitrariness appears as part of the mechanism that fuels it.

According to his public statements, he has said that he is happy that I am in jail, even though this is not related to his complaint.

According to the same public statements, he was aware that the same criminal fact had been investigated previously and the investigation had been closed; however, he filed a report again without any new evidence.

This is not a “stance.” This is a culture of shackles.

This is not “public interest.” This is interest in the person, not in the fact.

This person also requested the dismissal of the Mayor of Tirana, and that request was rejected as unconstitutional.

And when a person who is supposed to uphold the standard of human rights lowers the standard publicly, then the problem is not just a criminal matter. It's a problem of democracy.

So, an individual who has academic legal degrees and training in renowned institutions, but who, in my opinion, publicly displays disregard for the principle of res judicata and the presumption of innocence, today holds the position that should protect people's rights.

This is the bitterest irony of this country: the position of citizen protection is used as a political podium, while the citizen is left without the minimum means to defend himself in court.

I myself can't wait for the day when I face him in court. Not for the spectacle, but because there, in the face of facts and the law, rhetoric falls away and only the truth remains.

For me, who comes from politics, it is no surprise that the Socialist Party Parliamentary Group would vote for a high constitutional position a political opponent and a person who has criminally denounced projects and contracts of the Socialist Party government. The political history of Albania from 1912 to today has seen even more. World history from ancient Rome to today has seen much more.

What surprised me wasn't the vote.

It was a kiss. Not the usual human kiss. A hand kiss from a distance.

MPs who have been in Parliament for 4 months and MPs who have been there for 20 years. Everyone was equally turned on by the kiss.

Exciting, synchronized applause followed, as intense as if some important law had been passed.

Or maybe these 18 months I've lost my sense of reality.

In closing, I wish the jury and the representatives of the prosecution, the lawyers, the police and the secretariat, as well as the defendants, who are here today only because they had the chance to work with me once in their lives, good health for themselves and their families, and good work. By the way, Happy New Year 2026!