The Special Court in Albania ruled in favor of the Prosecution, rejecting former Prime Minister Sali Berisha’s request to be allowed to participate in parliamentary sessions. Since December 30, Berisha has been under house arrest, after previously refusing to comply with the Court’s order for “compulsory appearance” before a judicial police officer, claiming that the security measure against him was unconstitutional.

Berisha’s lawyers accused the Court of making a decision in violation of the law, disregarding even the practices of the European Court of Human Rights. According to lawyer Genc Gjokutaj, the court is acting according to political orders from Prime Minister Edi Rama.

“Without changing Rama’s orders, the decision of this court does not change,” Gjokutaj declared at the end of the session, announcing an appeal to the Special Court of Appeal.

A few weeks ago, the former prime minister’s request was rejected by the prosecutors of the case, who explained that according to the Criminal Procedure Code “during the duration of house arrest, the pre-trial detention rules apply”, and therefore “the right to practice the profession, or even the mandate obtained from the elections for the Parliament, should be considered incompatible with the enforcement of the security measure ‘house arrest’”.

Prosecutors also supported the idea that no legal provision envisages the possibility of granting such permission, and according to them, even in the lawyer’s request of Berisha, “there is no evidence of any provision on which the request for the granting of this permission is based”.

Berisha is under investigation for procedures followed in the privatization of the former sports club Partizani. He is suspected of favoring his son-in-law Jamarbër Malltezi, one of the former owners of the land, on which later a complex of buildings flourished.

Although under house arrest, every evening Berisha appears in the windows of his apartment, addressing groups of supporters gathering outside his residence, in one of the central areas of Tirana.

On February 20, Berisha and the deputies that follow him have warned of a protest against Prime Minister Rama and his “tyrannic rule”.