The Special Court has issued its verdict, sentencing the former Mayor of Kukës, Safet Gjici, to three years in prison for corruption. However, with an expedited trial, the sentence is reduced to two years. The court changed the accusation against Gjici from corruption to abuse of office. Meanwhile, Alma Kaçi has been sentenced to one year in prison after being found guilty of prostitution.
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| Safet Gjici and Alma Kaçi in intimate moments in the former's office |
According to SPAK, Safet Gjici received sexual favors from Kaçi, promising her a project involving dogs in return. Kaçi offered these favors while engaging in oral sexual acts in the mayor's office.
Before the verdict was announced, Gjici pleaded innocence, claiming that he had not violated any laws. He tearfully apologized to his family and the citizens of Kukës.
"I have received the greatest punishment, a moral one. I apologize to my family and the citizens of Kukës," said Gjici. He accused Abedin Oruci of attacking him to take over the municipality's properties.
"My conflict with Abedin Oruci began in 2019 when, as the mayor, I removed the barriers he placed in front of the municipality because it was not his property. I did not allow him to construct a building without permission near Lake Kukës, and I even had physical altercations when the Dutch ambassador visited Kukës. Our conflict has been ongoing, and he paid Alma Kaçi as revenge because I did not let him seize the municipality's properties and build unlawfully," Gjici stated.
Gjici questioned before the court why SPAK did not investigate Abedin Oruci and his contacts with Alma Kaçi. "Why did Alma give the video to Abedin Oruci after making it? Why wasn't this fact investigated? I have been under investigation for six months, as if I had created a terrorist organization. Where is the promise I made to Alma for the project, as nothing came from my phone while she communicated with Oruci? I told her to go to Alma's deputy, but she did not even hand it over there," Gjici emphasized.
The former mayor's lawyers claimed that Alma Kaçi was paid to produce the video and insisted that he had not committed any criminal acts.