On the 15th anniversary of the tragic events of January 21, 2011, a commemorative ceremony was held today at the Prime Minister’s Office in honor of the four victims, Ziver Veizi, Hekuran Deda, Aleks Nika, and Faik Myrtaj, in the presence of their family members. Prime Minister Edi Rama delivered a lengthy speech, stressing that justice for January 21 has still not been delivered, despite the justice reform and the creation of new institutions.

Rama stated that 15 years without justice for January 21 represent, in his view, a major injustice not only for the families of the victims but for Albanian society as a whole. He recalled the circumstances of the January 21, 2011 protest, declaring that, according to him, there is no evidence that protesters were armed or attempted to enter the Prime Minister’s Office building, while emphasizing that the four citizens were killed at a moment when the protest was dispersing.

“Fifteen years ago, this building was barricaded by an armed horde, a mixture of the regular forces of the Republican Guard and the notorious paramilitary groups of the prime minister,” Rama said, reports noa.al.

In his speech, the Prime Minister strongly criticized the justice system and, in particular, the new justice institutions, including the Special Prosecution (SPAK), for delays in investigating the January 21 case. He stated that, despite the ruling of the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg, which according to him found serious violations, justice has still not been served for the killings that occurred on Dëshmorët e Kombit Boulevard.

Rama said that the justice reform was carried out precisely to avoid impunity, but added that the failure to clarify January 21 continues to remain an “open hole” in the foundations of the new justice system. He emphasized that responsibility for investigating and punishing those responsible does not lie with political power, but with the justice institutions, underlining that without a final decision on this case, citizens’ trust in justice remains undermined.

After the speech, Prime Minister Rama, together with the families of the victims, laid flowers and paid tribute at the memorial plaques on Dëshmorët e Kombit Boulevard.

The speech and the strong criticism of the justice system come one day before an important expected judicial decision regarding Belinda Balluku, further increasing political and public attention on the functioning of judicial and prosecutorial institutions in the country. /noa.al