The Mayor of Tirana, Erion Veliaj, has denounced his transfer from the Durrës prison to the Fier prison, describing the move as a police abduction and a political transfer. In a public statement, Veliaj claims the process is being carried out without transparency and without making the official act and the legal grounds for this decision available to him. Veliaj also publicly calls on the Minister of Justice, the People’s Advocate and the Albanian Helsinki Committee to intervene urgently, verify the reasons for the transfer and examine what he describes as an action with political motives.
Full statement
Today, a group of Prison Police employees, sent by the General Directorate of Prisons, arrived at IEVP Durrës to transfer me to the Fier prison.
Despite repeated requests, both from me and from my lawyer, to be informed of the act ordering the transfer and the reasons justifying it, we have been refused access to this document.
A forced transfer, without informing me of the act and the legal grounds on which it is based, constitutes a police abduction for me and seriously violates my rights.
I have not consented to this transfer and have objected to the way it is being carried out, without transparency and without enabling me to effectively exercise my legal rights.
I publicly request the Minister of Justice, the People’s Advocate and the Albanian Helsinki Committee to intervene urgently and verify the reasons and causes of this political transfer.
Erion Veliaj
IEVP Durrës, 28 October 2026!