A tense confrontation took place yesterday between the former spouses, Ilir Meta and Monika Kryemadhi, at the session at the Special Court (GJKKO). The leader of the Freedom Party, Meta denied having received benefits from Ardian Shatku, Monika Kryemadhi’s cousin. While he reminded the latter of the accusation that the Special Prosecution Office (SPAK) has filed in the file that together with Shatku they shared percentages of profits from his company. It was this stance of Meta, together with his statement that Kryemadhi must bear responsibility for her own actions, that prompted the former MP’s harsh reaction. She denied the accusations, accusing her ex-husband of becoming a SPAK soldier.
Monika Kryemadhi: How do you know that they are true, With the rumors that Altin Dumani brings you, gossip is talking here. Don’t deal with women’s gossip. Are you still dealing with the rumors of Tedi Blushi?
Ilir Meta: I deal with the prosecution.
Monika Kryemadhi: Become a soldier of the prosecution.
Ilir Meta: I was referring to the prosecution’s allegations against me, to those moments that the prosecution calls compromising. They don’t appear in my case. There is nothing like that.
Regarding the CEZ-DIA case, lawyer Kutmid Cakrani called it a conspiracy to politically attack Ilir Meta. Cakrani also raised questions about the way Meta’s assets and activities were investigated, asking why SPAK did not conduct a full financial analysis. The lawyer also insisted that the accusation against CEZ-DIA does not stand up legally, since during the period when the criminal offenses were allegedly committed, Meta was not exercising a public function, as he was a deputy in the opposition. “With what happened with CEZ-DIA, this case began in 2017 with a report by Romeo Karaj. The report was made immediately after the proceedings against Kastriot Ismailaj ended, when he was sentenced with a final decision and the arbitration procedure also ended. Karaj was involved in these processes.
The report was initially about Sali Berisha and the entire Berisha government, and then it moved to Meta. Political opponents find people like Karaj and Vojsava Ismailaj, who, due to their family or mental problems, give interviews outside Albania, which in this case were taken into consideration. CEZ-DIA was a state concession. DIA is an American company that operates all over the world and was run by Rebeka. It did not need the help of either Berisha or Meta. Dritan Prifti was enough. The latter only recorded and, when the fly crossed the ministry, he received the fine. That’s how it was, not that I want to anathema it. In the process against Ismailaj and the others, Meta was never mentioned. Even those who testified never mentioned Meta. When the deal was closed by Gjiknuri, Meta was not mentioned. CEZ-DIA was used to hit Meta.
In 15 pages, the prosecution discusses what is presented as the case of the century. Ambassador Plepshi is mentioned. There is no evidence that he was both an ambassador and a trade advisor. Embassies have trade attaches and so on. Things that do not result in files or official acts cannot be related. Although he may have traveled on a plane with Ismailaj, Meta returned urgently on December 2 due to the floods in Shkodra. At that time, there was only a VIP counter where politicians or businessmen entered. The fact that they entered on the same day does not criminalize Meta. All opposition newspapers, or paid people and media, wrote articles that went as far as Vienna against Mr. Meta.
But this cannot be materialized in the indictment. Why didn’t SPAK do a financial analysis of Meta? What happened in his life? The accusation about CEZ-DIA does not stand, because in 2009 Meta was not a public official, but an opposition MP”, said Cakrani. Regarding a message that SPAK claims to have discovered, through which it is suspected that the former president asks for 200 thousand euros from Kastriot Ismail in the framework of the CEZ-DIA affair, the lawyer said that Meta has no connection and that the message is not in the file. “There is no connection to a message that says: ‘I need 200 by tomorrow’, when this message is not even in the file.
The Constitution has been seriously violated, because there is no decision for wiretapping. When was a deputy put under wiretapping at that time? Where is the special subject who committed passive corruption in 2009? You must have been a public official. Meta was not an official, but only a deputy in the opposition. If this was obtained by the prosecution and materialized in the indictment, then the prosecution used an intercepted message against a deputy without a court decision. I think this is a violation by the prosecution. The CEZ-DIA episode is strained, because an indictment had to be built. We think we are innocent of CEZ-DIA. When the arbitration procedure was taking place in Vienna, the media wrote that Meta had been the prime minister and these insinuations were turned into an indictment by SPAK”, continued Cakrani.
Details
The lawyer further requested the inadmissibility of the acts and files regarding the CEZ DIA episode, stating that:
“The journalists’ interviews with Ervis Metaj and Vojsava Ismailaj should be declared inadmissible and excluded from the trial. Also, the evidence related to CEZ-DIA should be excluded from the trial:
-SMS message from 2009;
-Videotaping of Dritan Prifti, because his statements cannot be proven since he has passed away. Dritan Prifti was involved in recordings, he would bring people into the office and record them. We don’t have to mention that he is deceased today, but that’s how it is.
-Materials from arbitration are absolutely prohibited from being used as evidence in a criminal trial in our country, when they were obtained according to the procedures of that arbitration. Even if the interviews are considered, they do not constitute a criminal fact. The interviewer directs the conversation. They are not reliable.
As for the message ‘I need 200 by tomorrow’, there is nothing there to prove the prosecution’s claim that it is about 200 thousand euros. Meanwhile, Meta was a member of parliament and we are dealing with a flagrant violation of parliamentary immunity. There is no data on how this evidence was preserved for 15 years. It should be excluded from the dossier and declared unusable”, said Cakrani.
Lobbying, Meta speaks
Regarding the episode of LSI lobbying in the US, Ilir Meta himself defended himself, stating that the contract was signed to support the justice reform, as Edi Rama was trying to make the justice reform unilateral and by manipulating the State Department. “The agreement was made only for the justice reform, so that it would be implemented by consensus. Seeing that Rama was manipulating a part of the State Department, who were not dealing with the reform, but with the geographical area, I made this commitment with party funds, so that the reform would be carried out according to the interests of the US itself and there would be no manipulation”, Meta stressed. Regarding the meeting with Donald Trump, Meta said that when he went there, he was informed about a 15 thousand euro contract for participation in the inauguration ceremony. He stressed that this contract was denounced because Meta had an invitation as the Speaker of the Parliament and he did not need that contract. Meanwhile, the president of the Freedom Party, Ilir Meta, has requested that Prime Minister Edi Rama be called as a witness in the ongoing judicial process against him. According to Meta, the testimony of the head of government is necessary to clarify the circumstances related to the mining law and the decision-making process that has accompanied the legal changes in this area. The list of witnesses proposed by Meta also includes former Speaker of the Parliament, Gramoz Ruçi, and Socialist Party MP, Taulant Balla.
During his statements in court, Meta argued that the case requires a broader analysis of the effects that the legal changes have brought, suggesting the involvement of independent experts. As for the accusations of concealing assets, Cakrani requested a re-examination of Meta’s income since 1992, while at the end he also unveiled a list of 130 names that he wants to call as witnesses, including Prime Minister Rama, former MPs, his former associates in the Socialist Movement for Integration and several foreign citizens related to the CEZ-DIA issues and lobbying, including Charles McGonical. It will be the court that will decide which witnesses will be admitted, as SPAK also listed 110 names in the previous session. Meta and Kryemadhi will be tried in the ordinary process and are accused of corruption, money laundering and concealing assets. The next session will be held on July 9 at 10:00.
debates
Meanwhile, as we noted above, the former couple, Ilir Meta and Monika Kryemadhi, clashed during the hearing at the GJKKO. It was a statement by the former president that sparked the debate between the parties as he said that Monika Kryemadhi should take responsibility for her actions, referring to SPAK’s accusation that Kryemadhi and Shatku shared percentages of profits from his company.
Ilir Meta: I want to emphasize that there is no political influence of any kind, neither legal nor illegal, neither for Adrian Shatku nor for any other person. There is no SMS from Ilir Meta, Monika, or Pirro Xhixho, Shatku, Haxhinasto, on legal or illegal issues. They are all slander. There is no conversation with Theodhori Cani, but he is one of those Greeks who have slaughtered Chams.
This is Greek and UDB history. Adrian Shatku should also come and explain everything that had to do with these allegations. I was kidnapped based on a letter of recommendation, which after a while came back different, showing that I had no connection to those payments. There is no interference of mine, neither legal nor social, with anyone. She knows about the actions of the Grand Master herself. If I had been active, those stories with percentages would have come to my mobile phone.
Monika Kryemadhi: But how do you know if they are true?
Ilir Meta: I deal with the prosecution.
Monika Kryemadhi: Be a soldier of the prosecution. Enough is enough, it’s not like that. With the gossip that Altin Dumani brings, you’re talking gossip here. Don’t deal with women’s gossip. Are you still dealing with Tedi Blushi’s gossip?
(After this moment, there was a debate between Monika Kryemadhi and Ilir Meta. The court warned Kryemadhi to obey her orders, emphasizing that in case of non-compliance, he could be fined or removed from the courtroom.)
Ilir Meta: I was referring to the prosecution’s allegations about me, about those moments that the prosecution calls compromising. They do not appear in my case. There is nothing. To understand this whole story with Adrian Shatku, it is said that I went to Morocco for Adrian Shatku’s sake. The prosecution claims that Monika told Shatku: “If you will come, because Ilir is coming for you”. According to SPAK, Adrian Shatku’s influence on me was so great that I was going to Morocco for him. According to SPAK, Shatku told him that he arranged the meeting with the Prime Minister of Morocco. Meanwhile, the visit was a state visit. There were also other businessmen in Morocco.