Lushnja Massacre, Supreme Court rejects Laert Haxhiu’s appeal, upholds life sentence for Aldo Bare’s rival
The Supreme Court has finally sealed the life sentence for Laert Haxhiu. Thus, the court has rejected his appeal to overturn the decision of the Special Appeal regarding the “Lushnja Massacre”, upholding the life sentence for the “Lushnja Massacre”. The third instance of the judiciary rejected Haxhiu’s request, thus upholding the maximum sentence against him. The decision was made by a panel composed of judges Ilir Panda, Sokol Binaj and Sandër Simoni.
Laert Haxhiu has been found guilty of the serious incident that occurred in 2017 in Lushnja, where Zamir Latifi and Jurgen Hoxha lost their lives, while Bujar Turku and Marius Xhepexhiu were also injured. Orgest Bilbili and Anterio Kaloshi have also been sentenced to life imprisonment for the same case. The convicted are accused of the criminal offenses of “Murder in qualifying circumstances of one or more persons”, “Committing criminal offenses within the framework of a criminal group”, “Unauthorized possession and production of weapons, explosive weapons and ammunition”, and “Disturbing public peace”. We recall that, in the arguments submitted to the Supreme Court, Haxhiu’s lawyer, Detar Hysi, listed the facts that the court has exceeded its competences, the decision is not in accordance with the law and that with this decision-making an attempt is being made to open a saga of murders in the city of Lushnja, violating the national security of life and in our country. He also added that one of the members of the appeals panel of the GJKKO voted for acquittal for the massacre.
Who is Laert Haxhiu?
Laert Haxhiu is considered one of the most well-known names in the Albanian underworld, mainly associated with criminal clashes in the city of Lushnja. He became known to justice and public opinion after the serious event of 2017, known as the “Lushnja Massacre”, in which Zamir Latifi and Jurgen Hoxha were killed, while two other people were injured. Haxhiu has been accused by the Prosecutor’s Office as the leader of a criminal group involved in murders, assassinations and arms trafficking. For a long period he was internationally wanted, while he was later arrested in Greece and extradited to Albania.
His name is also often associated with conflicts between criminal groups in Lushnja, especially with people close to Aldo Bare, known as the leader of the “Lushnjës Gang”, one of the most notorious criminal organizations in the country during the years 1990-2000. According to investigations and media reports over the years, Laert Haxhiu was considered a rival of Aldo Bare’s group and those associated with it. The conflicts between the parties are suspected to have led to a series of assassinations and revenge attacks in the city of Lushnja. Aldo Bare, whose real name is Alfred Shkurti, was sentenced to life imprisonment for several murders and leading the criminal organization that terrorized Lushnja for years. His group had a great influence on criminal activities and clashes with rivals have produced a long history of violence in the area. Meanwhile, Albanian authorities have considered Laert Haxhiu as part of the new generation of criminal groups that emerged after the weakening of the old structure of the “Lushnjës Gang”.
Enmity with Aldo Bare
Laert Haxhiu grew up amidst the fierce criminal conflicts that have engulfed Lushnja over the years. He was still a child when Aldo Bare’s gang allegedly burned down his apartment and killed close family members, events that, according to investigations and media reports, contributed to the creation of a sense of revenge against the rival group. Orges Bilbili, who was later considered a close associate of Haxhiu, was also involved in the same conflict. Although he did not have a higher education, Laert Haxhiu became a well-known name in Albanian justice due to his involvement in serious criminal events. He was only 18 years old when he was accused of the murder of Gerti Lala, who was attacked with a knife and then shot three times near the entrance of the building where he lived.
Orges Bilbili was also suspected of participating in this crime. The identification of the perpetrators was made by the victim’s mother, who recognized them as the people who killed her son. Laert Haxhiu was found guilty of murder and released from prison in 2014. Only eight months after his release, he was arrested again in 2015 for drug trafficking. According to the police, Haxhiu tried to escape arrest by jumping from a height of several meters, which caused him to break his leg. At the time of his arrest, he declared to the officers that he had fled because he thought he was being followed by people connected to Aldo Bare. The authorities suspected that Haxhiu, through a bus line with Greece, was also involved in international drug trafficking. During the arrest, about 1.2 kilograms of cocaine were seized, but he was sentenced to 17 months and 10 days in prison.