The issue of property has been one of the most talked about topics in the last three decades in Albania and still remains an unresolved problem, whether it is registration, or the theft of a property, to further conflicts over the same subject.

Part of this trend is Ibrahim Metaliaj, an 88-year-old from Dragobia, Tropoja, who has been wandering the courts for more than 14 years to regain ownership of his land.

According to Metaliaj, the alienation of the property came as a result of the collaboration of his relative and the mayor of Tropoja, Rexh Byberi, then mayor of Margegaj, through the falsification of documents.

Meanwhile, Rexhe Byberi, the mayor of Tropoja, is a well-known name in the public eye, having been found guilty by SPAK on the charge of "Abuse of office" for damages to the state budget of almost three million euros. He has also been repeatedly denounced by the Supreme State Audit Office for violations in tenders, the value of which amounts to almost six million euros.

TAKING PROPERTY
The story of Ibrahim begins in one of the most historic areas in Albania, just 14 kilometers from the city of Bajram Curri, in the Dragobi Gorge, in one of the villages of the Tropoja Highlands, known for its epics, lutes, and three-story towers that once housed legendary national heroes.

Today, as tourists visit the unique natural flow of the Valbona River, another river flow actually flows through the village: that of conflict and corruption over property.

"It is Article 41 of the Constitution, which is the basic, fundamental article that protects private property and that definitely qualifies private property as inviolable and inviolable, which is the only thing that does not seem to be the case in Albania," says lawyer Anxhela Lame for "Vetting".

It was 1994, when Ibrahim Metaliaj's family went to the Tropoja District Court and won the case to take over the 5000 square meter plot of land. For several years, he used the building as a business, then due to family problems, he was forced to close it.

However, the 88-year-old's uncle's son, Zenun Metaliaj, appears on the scene, who in 2006 sues his cousin, Ibrahim, claiming that he did not divide the property of the aforementioned area and seeks his "revenge." But there is a catch: Zenun belonged to the village of Llugaj and not Dragobi, like Ibrahim.

"I am not a lawyer, nor a prosecutor, nor a judge, but I have heard that if the court's decision is final, it is indisputable, the problem is closed. He has neither a civil status in Dragobi, nor a cadastral record in Tropoja. Then how is it possible that he has property in Dragobi to sell?", the 88-year-old confesses.

The decision issued by the Tropoja District Court mentions that the Land Commission of the village of Dragobi had decided with decision no. 18, dated 05/11/1995, that this area would be divided into two parts, with one part belonging to Ibrahim and the other to Zenun.

After the commission provided Zenuni with a land title deed, the same commission did not receive the title deed that it had previously given to Ibrahim, thus preventing this decision from being implemented.

Also at that time, the municipality of Margegaj and the Tropoja Real Estate Registration Office testified. They argued that the land was occupied by buildings built before the 1990s, which were still unprivatized until then and that the laws on the privatization of state property were in effect on them.

Thus, according to them, the land occupied by these buildings is not registered and is state property, rejecting Zenun Metaliaj's lawsuit and describing the division of the land as unfair and unfounded in law.

Although the law overthrew him, Zenuni didn't stop there. He reappeared in Dragobi around 2007, along with Rexh Byberi, who was the mayor at the time, and the latter's uncle's son, Bashkim Byberi.

Then, in 2008, according to Ibrahim Metaliaj, he was notified by local officials that Rexh Byberi had headed to the Kukes Cadastre with forged documents to claim his property.

"I met with the head of the cadastre, Mr. Naim Tema, former Cadastre of the Kukes District. I entered the office, I told him to give me a copy of the document, he said "no, I won't give it to you. I have it on my desk, but I will return it to you, because it is state property, you are not allowed to give it to anyone, that 3000-meter section of the road"", the 88-year-old continues.

After the conversation, Ibrahimi began to deal with the denunciation procedures, so that everything was documented and later, he filed a criminal complaint against the then mayor of the municipality, Rexhe Byberi.

Since that year, the 88-year-old's documents, as well as the complaint, began their journey from the Bajram Curri Prosecutor's Office to the Kukës Prosecutor's Office, where they later ended up in the Tropoja Prosecutor's Office, to prosecute Byberi, as the case began to drag on.

Meanwhile, in 2009, with letter number 14, without a date, with only Byber's signature, protocoled by the Margegaj municipality, a commission set up by members Bajram Brahaj, Hazir Isufaj, Zyrah Koka, Imer Imeraj and Platin Cokaj, examined the building.

They found that this facility was built in 1985, completely unfinished, unused for a day, not handed over to anyone and did not have a guard. The construction of the building, consisting of reinforced concrete columns, brick and stone walls, are damaged and collapsed as a result of atmospheric conditions.

They added that the roof, which was built of wood, is completely destroyed, while the floor does not appear to have been built and the wooden doors or windows do not exist, along with the electrical and hydraulic installations. Furthermore, the plastering has been completely destroyed, again as a result of the weather conditions.

Thus, this commission decided that as a result of the above situation, this facility is beyond technical conditions and is completely out of use. This assessment act was signed by the mayor of the municipality, Rexh Byberi.

""What does it mean here, more than anything else, I suspect that a state official is seeking to appropriate that property, rather than the citizen having forged documents for his own reasons. Without wanting to play devil's advocate here, to defend these documents, I believe that they should have been sent for full verification first and then addressed whether it is state property or not," says lawyer Anxhela Lame.

Meanwhile, in the same year, that is, in 2009, the sale of the area was completed between Byber and the 88-year-old's relative, Zenun Metaliaj. The amount paid was 4 million lek.

Until 2022, Ibrahim Metaliaj witnessed the reconstruction of the building and the works carried out on the land, which legally belonged to him by final decision. Meanwhile, the 88-year-old has tried to denounce the case wherever he can be thought to have an ear to hear the injustice.

According to him, he has sent his case to the General Prosecutor's Office, has written to the Prime Minister's Office, as well as to the People's Advocate, the President or even former Prime Minister Sali Berisha. On the other hand, the request for help has fallen on deaf ears, while only one responded: Bamir Topi. The latter had stated that he had sent his case to the General Prosecutor's Office.

"No problem was solved", the 88-year-old further states.

"Hope dies last," they say, so Ibrahimi did not give up and once again filed a criminal complaint against the mayor of Tropoja, Rexh Byberi, with SPAK. The case was finally taken under investigation, but there has not yet been an update on the latest details on what stage the investigations into the file are at.

"Vetting" has sent a request for information to SPAK, whether the matter is still under investigation or not, but as of the publication of this news, there has been no response yet.

Meanwhile, in the criminal complaint against SPAK, Ibrahim Metaliaj accused Rexh Byberi of violating Law No. 107/2014 by building without a permit for profit purposes and of the criminal offense of "Abuse of office".

Other charges are added such as "Destruction of property" and "Forgery of documents", and Zenun Metaliaj has also been accused of "Laundering the proceeds of a criminal offense or criminal activity".

"If I have anything else to say, my property is returned, it is for me. The mayor, if he is guilty, the state knows, if I am guilty, the justice system, the state knows. For me, let him be a minister because he can protect it, he may have other properties, but I am not accusing him of not knowing," says Ibrahim Metaliaj.