 |
Prime Minister Edi Rama sought to defend his proposal by cursing law critics as protectors of criminals while trying to position himself as an uncompromising fighter against crime. He argued that critics were ignoring the suffering of crime victims, such as victims of human trafficking for the purpose of prostitution or drug addicts.
"I am not, and I say very it frankly, I am not at all surprised by all the support the organized crime elite fund by the most extreme battle against this death that has engulfed Albania,” Rama declared.
"Thanks to all the villains and hypocrites in costume who have had a microphone in their hands, they have made with shame the country in the eyes of non-Albanians who write bullshit and pour poison with the greatest pleasure against our country," he added.
On Wednesday, a group of 23 organizations urged parliament to overturn this normative act. "We urge parliament to overthrow it," the organizations statement said.
According to them, “the Normative Act bypasses the constitutional framework of the country, violates the principle of separation and balance of powers, violates fundamental human rights and freedoms, including freedom of movement and the right to a fair trial, weakens the legal and effective independence of the Prosecutor's Office and may undermine the fight against organized crime, because actions taken by Operation Rule of Law (OFL) as an executive structure, in some cases even with immediate effect under this act, may be later overturned by the courts as actions not in accordance with the constitutional standards and the European Convention on Human Rights."
The normative act, introduced by Rama nicknamed "catch what you can to catch", stipulates that the police have the right to make prior seizures or order persons suspected of crimes not to move out of their usual place of residence without permission. similar to those of a police state. But the normative act, which officially came into force on January 31, has so far produced daily press conferences of a police officer stating that usually two known or less known persons for criminal activity are sent by a form to who are required to list the assets they have and the source of the creation of those assets.
The effectiveness of this technique remains to be seen as some of the country's most famous "criminals" have already publicly stated that they do not own any property or have a modest property and therefore have nothing to justify with legitimate sources.
Meanwhile, the opposition has attacked the government on the grounds that it is unwilling to send the form in question to some persons known or suspected of criminal activity but who are very close to the Socialist Party. They point to, for example, the case of former Interior Minister Saimir Tahiri who was investigated and acquitted by the International Criminal Court of First Instance for Serious Crimes for International Drug Trafficking but convicted of abuse of office.
Albania's Prime Minister Edi Rama has been widely criticized in recent years for having had friendly relations with a number of people with criminal backgrounds, including MPs from his party or allied parties or socialist mayors. Rama has stated in all cases that he was not aware of their past. In at least one case, a former deputy of his, Arben Ndoka, was discovered after he was elected MP for being convicted in Italy of human trafficking. Ndoka has stated that his sentence in Italy was unfair.