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The Supreme Court left Veliaj in prison, foreign lawyers: Kafkaesque decision, raises strong questions!

2026-09-18 14:18:55Aktualitet SHKRUAR NGA REDAKSIA VOX
The Supreme Court left Veliaj in prison, foreign lawyers: Kafkaesque decision,
Erion Veliaj

Following the decision of the Supreme Court to remand the mayor of Tirana in custody, despite the previous decision of the Constitutional Court, there has also been a reaction from Erion Veliaj's international lawyers.

In the statement distributed by the American law firm Kasowitz, it is emphasized that the Supreme Court's decision tests whether constitutional control has practical force.

"The decision of the Supreme Court of Albania is Kafkaesque and raises a strong question: is there any meaning to constitutional review in Albania if the constitutional deficiencies identified by the Constitutional Court - the highest court in the country - are not corrected by lower courts?", the reaction states.

Kasowitz emphasizes that Veliaj has already spent more than 19 months in detention, without any trial or conviction, and that constitutional rights cannot exist only on paper and constitutional control cannot be turned into an exercise without practical consequences.

Full statement

The Supreme Court of Albania remands the mayor of Tirana, Erion Veliaj, after the Constitutional Court overturned the previous decision of the Supreme Court.

The Supreme Court of Albania ruled on September 15 that Tirana Mayor Erion Veliaj should remain in detention, upholding the March 13, 2025, decision of the Special Court of Appeal. The decision follows a ruling by the Constitutional Court of Albania, which overturned the Supreme Court’s previous decision on Mayor Veliaj’s detention and remanded the case for reconsideration.

The Constitutional Court found that the previous decision of the Supreme Court had not carried out the review required by the Constitution on important issues related to the continued detention of Mayor Veliaj, including its proportionality and the constitutional consequences of preventing the democratically elected mayor of Tirana from exercising the mandate entrusted to him by the city's voters. The Constitutional Court referred the case back to the Supreme Court for further consideration.

Mayor Veliaj has been in detention since February 10, 2025 - more than 19 months - and continues to be the elected mayor of Tirana. In a separate ruling last year, the Constitutional Court declared invalid an attempt to remove him from office due to his involuntary absence while in detention.

Daniel J. Fetterman, partner at Kasowitz LLP and Mayor Veliaj's lead international attorney, stated:

“The decision of the Supreme Court of Albania is Kafkaesque and raises a strong question: is there any meaning to constitutional review in Albania if the constitutional deficiencies identified by the Constitutional Court - the highest court in the country - are not corrected by lower courts?

“The Constitutional Court of Albania overturned the previous decision of the Supreme Court and returned this matter for review, because the substantive review required by the Constitution had not been carried out regarding the proportionality of Mayor Veliaj's detention, the less restrictive measures and the consequences of preventing the elected mayor of Tirana from exercising the mandate given by the citizens of Tirana.

“Mayor Veliaj has already spent more than 19 months in detention, without any trial or sentence. Constitutional rights cannot exist only on paper and constitutional control cannot be transformed into an exercise without practical consequences. The rule of law does not depend simply on the issuance of decisions by constitutional courts, but also on the meaningful implementation of these decisions.

“Therefore, this issue raises a much broader institutional question: whether the justice system in Albania respects the rule of law when constitutional protections require a different direction and whether the decisions of the Constitutional Court have any practical meaning.

“Albania’s institutions still have the opportunity to prove that constitutional guarantees are enforceable and not merely aspirations. We will continue to pursue every legal avenue available to Mayor Veliaj and insist on a process in accordance with these principles.”

The public announcement of the Supreme Court, dated September 15, announces that the Court upheld the decision of March 13, 2025, of the Special Court of Appeal. The announcement does not yet contain the full written reasoning of the Court and states that the reasoned decision will be communicated to the parties in accordance with the procedures of the Court.

The issues surrounding Mayor Veliaj’s detention arise in a broader procedural context. Kasowitz has previously reported that information made public by court order indicated that the SPAK investigation appeared to have been initiated by anonymous complaints attributed to “Nesti Agon” and “Nasta Pëllumbi,” neither of whom appeared in the National Civil Registry of Albania. Mayor Veliaj has also filed a separate objection regarding whether Chief Prosecutor Ols Dado met the legal requirements governing his appointment. These issues are separate from the Supreme Court’s September 15 decision on detention.


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