Former Albanian prime minister Berisha is formally charged with corruption

On September 11, 2024, news from Tirana, Albania. Former Albanian prime minister Sali Berisha said on Wednesday that he has been formally charged with corruption over a real estate deal. Berisha claims the charge is politically motivated.

In October last year, prosecutors launched a public investigation into Berisha for allegedly abusing his power to help his son-in-law Jamalber Martetzi privatize public land in the capital Tirana to build 17 apartment buildings. Berisha, 79, leads the opposition Democratic Party. Since December last year, he has been under house arrest and banned from traveling abroad after he violated the requirement to report to the authorities every two weeks.

On Wednesday, Berisha went to the Special Prosecutor's Office for the Fight against Organized Crime. There, he was informed of the charges against him for about half an hour and received an approximately 500-page-long evidence file, which he called "lies". At the same time, Martetzi was also summoned on Wednesday and informed that he was formally charged with corruption. In December last year, the parliament stripped Berisha of his legal immunity.

Berisha criticized the investigation and his arrest as political repression ordered by Prime Minister Edi Rama (the leader of the ruling left-wing Socialist Party). Outside the prosecutor's office, he told reporters that he denied all corruption charges, saying, "Nothing has changed. This is the continuation of political revenge." Dozens of supporters gathered at the scene, chanting slogans in support of Berisha and criticizing the government.

Berisha served as the prime minister of Albania from 2005 to 2013 and as the president from 1992 to 1997. He was re-elected as a member of the Democratic Party in the parliamentary elections in 2021. Albania will hold parliamentary elections next year. If Berisha is convicted or still awaiting trial, he may not be able to run for public office. In May 2021, the US government and in July 2022, the British government banned Berisha and his close relatives from entering their countries on the grounds of alleged involvement in corruption.