May 14th, 2018
This newsletter is drafted by the International Affairs Bureau of the Democratic Party of Albania in response to the growing interest from international partners and organisations on the democracy and rule of law standards in the country.

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BREAKING

New audio recording reveals Albanian Interior Minister’s brother is involved in drug trafficking.

Minister of Interior has abused with his power by ensuring full impunity for the criminal activity of his brother, convicted in Italy with a final prison sentence of 7 years and 2 months for international drug trafficking. Due to protection from his brother Interior Minister Xhafaj, his brother has not served a single day from his sentence. 

A recent audio recording (click here) between an ex felon convicted in Italy for drugs trafficking  and the Interior Minister’s brother shows that Agron Xhafaj is currently involved in drug trafficking between Albania and Italy.

In the recording, Interior Minister’s brother provides assistance and guarantees to a mediation request for a cannabis cargo to be bought in the city of Vlora and sent to Italy. The request is made by an ex-felon and drug trafficker, friend of the Interior Minister’s brother. 

Ex-felon:
I came for what I talked about, to make the trip. […]

Interior Minister’s brother:   
[…] Listen, it’s the first and the last time, and don’t bring trouble to me. We are being attacked a lot. Look also to my brother (Interior Minister Fatmir Xhafaj). They are attacking really a lot. Let this be the first and the last time. […] They have named us. Don’t bring trouble to me, please take it seriously! The others in Italy, you see it. […] They’re attacking us badly […] Those in Italy are all cracked.
Audio recording of an exchange, between Interior Minister's brother,
Agron Xhafaj and an ex-felon.

Reminder of the facts :
Interior Minister has breached Albanian and international laws to protect his brother.

1) Interior Minister has breached the law by not exerting his legal obligations falling upon him - with the purpose to allow his brother to live freely without having to consume a day in prison, nor Albania or Italy - and specifically by:
 
  • not formally verifying the identity of his brother;
  • not informing Italian authorities as of his brother’s location in Albania;
  • not arresting and imprisoning his brother according to the Italian sentence (click here);

2) The Interior Minister has forged parliamentary documents (click here), abusing with his former Position as Chairman of the Legal Affairs Parliamentary Committee, in order for his brother:
 
  • not be extradited to Italy;
  • not to execute his prison sentence in Albania;

3) Interior Minister Xhafaj is in full breach of the Albanian Anti-Mafia law, while being simultaneously its subject, as he is:
 
  • not investigating his brother’s source of wealth in Albania;
  • not applying any sequestration measure of his brother’s wealth considering his Italian sentence; 

The Albanian Anti-Mafia law provides (Article 8, law 10192, dt. 3/12/2009, click here for text in English) that any drug criminal activity shall be the object of an automatic investigation of the Ministry of Interior. Article 3 states in addition that all close relatives of the trafficker shall also be investigated and put under the same scrutiny. This implies that the same Minister of Interior in charge of implementing the Anti-Mafia law, is simultaneously an object of the Anti-Mafia Law

4) Interior Minister Xhafaj is violating international standards and procedures - by granting a full immunity to his brother and not extraditing him - particularly according to: 

 
  • the European Convention on Extraditions stating that the extradition can be refused only in those cases when minimal judicial rights have not been respected. This is clearly not the case for a state like Italy.
  • the Italian Ministry of Justice, having declared publicly via an interview of its Justice Minister that Italy is awaiting for the extradition of 12 cases similar to the one of Albainan Interior Minister’s brother (click here for interview in English)
Italian Justice Minister, Mr.Andrea Orlando TV interview,
Albanian Report TV,
Date 13 / 12 / 2017.
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Democratic Party of Albania. 


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