Tirana– The Serious Crimes Court has issued a security measure of “prison arrest” for Kujtim Miri, the second cousin of the Tirana Appeals Court judge, Shkëlqim Miri. Kujtim Miri is accused of corruption, as he is suspected of being one of the brokers of the 30 thousand euro deal between Shkëlqim Miri and the wanted Gentian Doda, to uphold the decision of the First Instance Court of Mati, which qualified the convicted person’s criminal offense, leading to his release.
The hearing took place yesterday at the Serious Crimes Court where Kujtim Miri preferred not to speak in the courtroom. According to the investigative file, Kujtim Miri has met Alban Buci, a relative of Gentian Doda, several times regarding the corruption affair, writes "panorama".
Buçi is a relative of Gentian Doda and was the negotiator for the amount that the accused had to pay to Shkëlqim Miri, so that the latter would vote in favor of upholding the decision of the First Instance Court of Mati.
It is learned that the meetings took place in a bar in Fushë-Krujë. At the time, Gentian Doda was serving a sentence for "premeditated murder" in the Fushë-Krujë prison. Kujtim Miri was detained a day after the judge's arrest, but he did not prefer to speak to law enforcement agencies. Meanwhile, Gentian Doda and Alban Buci continue to be sought.
The Serious Crimes Court has sentenced these two to prison in absentia. They are also accused of corruption, while there is still no objection to the qualification of the accused's criminal offense, which was changed from "premeditated murder" to "intentional serious injury resulting in death."
Gentian Doda killed Gazmir Deda and another person in the city center of Burrel in 1997. After the murder, he lived on the run for many years, and was sentenced by the Court of Mati to 20 years in prison in absentia. Doda hid in Britain for a long time under the name of a war refugee from Kosovo, along with his brother. However, it was a trip to the US that put him behind bars.
In 2012, the Albanian Ministry of Justice reached an agreement with US authorities for Doda's extradition, on the condition that a retrial be held, as he had been convicted in absentia. After several years of requests and appeals, the retrial decided to qualify Doda's criminal offense, with the argument that the victim had died a few days later in hospital and that there had been no previous conflicts between the perpetrator and the victim.
The Prosecution appealed this decision to the Tirana Court of Appeal and Gentian Doda paid 30 thousand euros to Shkëlqim Miri, so that the latter would vote in favor of upholding that decision, which would lead to his release. The Tirana Court of Appeal upheld Mati's decision in a 2-1 vote, where rapporteur Agim Bendo also voted in favor, but for whom there is no evidence of corruption. We recall that during the search, around 330 million old lek were found in Shkëlqim Miri's apartment, out of the 30 that the judge had declared.
(BalkanWeb)
