Former Chief Prosecutor Adriatik Llalla said tonight in an interview to Syri TV that the former EU Ambassador to Albania, Romana Vlahutin had requested him the arrest of Sali Berisha. Llalla confessed the conversation and the action he did afterward.
Excerpts from the Syritv interview:
Mr. Lalla, you are not the only one who has been threatened by an American ambassador, in this studio where you are sitting, the statements of President Meta are sensational, who said: Ambassador Kim asked me to break the law because as Meta said, we also have things for you; so it is a direct blackmail.
Meanwhile, Mr. Berisha was surprisingly declared non-grata by the US, just like you in the same arguments, and the response of the US Department spokesman is motivated that the public in Albania and the region is convinced of corruption, but no evidence is required from us. Has Adriatik Llalla been asked to arrest Ilir Meta and Sali Berisha as while on duty as the Chief Prosecutor of Albania?
This is a topic I have spoken about before and it seems inappropriate to return to such a discussion...
Time has passed, but have you been specifically asked by name to arrest Sali Berisha, specifically by an ambassador?
For Berisha, yes, I was asked to be arrested, a request made by EU Ambassador Romana Vlahutin to be arrested and to follow the example of Croatia.
She told me that for Albania to join the EU, it must follow the path of Croatia and arrest Sali Berisha, and you have the opportunity to show your strength to help Albania join the EU. She has taken advantage of the case that she was in the status of a diplomat because in other conditions this is intolerable for every free citizen requires arrest without evidence is absurd that requires entering the offices of an independent state and being imposed in such forms.
Did you inform the Albanian institutions about this request?
I have informed Mr. Nishani, the President of the Republic, and Mr. Meta who was the Speaker of Parliament.
How did Nishani react?
It seemed normal to Mr. Nishani. Vlahutin had gone immediately after the meeting with me, to Meta's office to clarify this debate, anticipating any possible reaction from him, the moment in which Meta contacted me and explained what the situation was.
Did you have evidence for Sali Berisha?
In no case has the investigation produced evidence that Sali Berisha was involved in an illegal situation.
Has there been a case where Berisha has been accused by the Rama government in the prosecution?
Not a case.
In a letter, you sent to the US Congress and is now public and I do not know how true its content is, did you say that you were asked by the American ambassador to arrest Mr. Meta?
For Mr. Meta, he positioned himself and after the meeting with Lu, he said incorrectly that he said; I trust the ambassador and not the Albanian prosecution.
For Berisha, there was a request for arrest only from Vlahut and not from the American ambassador.