Leonard Bashaliu, brother of Albi Bashaliu, testified at the Special Court in the trial against Laert Haxhiu. Bashaliu was transported from Peqin prison, where he is serving his sentence for the murder of Ylber Xhahysa.
In his testimony, he said that at the time of his brother’s murder he was in Elbasan prison and had learned the news from television.
“My brother was killed on December 27, 2021. I was in prison, at the Elbasan Penitentiary, when the murder happened. I heard from television that Albi had been killed. I was not well psychologically and did not ask to meet with anyone. My mother came to visit me, but we did not talk about the incident,” he stated.
Leonard Bashaliu also confirmed that he is the author of the murder of Ylber Xhahysa, a crime for which he is serving a sentence.
“I killed Ylber Xhahysa. I admitted the crime, expressed remorse and accepted the punishment,” he said.
Asked about his brother’s murder, Bashaliu said he has no idea who might have committed the crime.
“I have no idea who might have killed my brother. I haven’t received any signal as to who might have killed him,” he declared before the court.
The victim’s cousin, Sami Bashaliu, also testified before the trial panel, recounting the moments of the assassination.
According to him, the incident occurred near his bar in the village of Gjocaj, Peqin.
“It was a white Audi car with dark windows and Albanian license plates. The woman told me that the car had been there for a while. I approached, but I didn’t see anyone. After a while, a person got out, approached Albi Bashaliu, and then shots were heard. The person was wearing a mask. He shot two or three times. The boys who were sitting in the bar got scared and ran away. There were two people in the car, but only one shot. Albi fell to the ground, while the perpetrators then burned the victim’s vehicle,” he testified.
Sami Bashaliu said he did not know the perpetrator and was unaware of the victim’s conflicts.
“Albi didn’t come to our bar often anymore since his brother was killed. I didn’t know anything about his past. It was rumored in the area that Albert Xhahysa had killed Albi’s brother, but I don’t know anything,” the witness stated.