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'The father was a priest and died in prison'/ The chilling testimony of the minority: The body and legs were thrown to the side and...

2022-07-16 08:25:04Histori SHKRUAR NGA REDAKSIA VOX
'The father was a priest and died in prison'/ The chilling testimony
Spiro Rexho

The crimes of communism in the dictatorial regime of Enver Hoxha and his successor, Ramiz Ali. Spiro Rexho, former political prisoner and sufferer in the prison of Vlora and Rubik, who is originally from the Greek minority and was born in 1943 in Nivica, Saranda, testifies. He was arrested when he was a soldier in Vlora and was sentenced to 1 and a half years on the false accusation that: "when he was doing his mandatory military service, he planned to escape and that he had spoken badly about the Party and Enver Hoxha".

He was transferred to Rubik, where he worked as a prisoner in the copper mine. The young man was sentenced to 17 years. He spent 12 years in prison, from 1962 to July 1973. His father, a priest, who served first in Nivica and after the war in Mursi, served prison terms and died in prison. Originally from the villages of the Greek minority, he was educated at the "Zosimea" high school in Ioannina and then continued at the "Normal" School in Elbasan. As a zealous believer, he became a priest and left a good impression wherever he served. He took part in the fight against the fascist invaders and after the war he was imprisoned for his democratic ideas. The first time he was sentenced by firing squad, but the sentence was reduced from 25 years to 3 years, due to the protests of the villages where he performed religious services. In the wave of war against religion, he was imprisoned again and due to ill-treatment and malnutrition, died in prison. His remains were found in the cemetery of Sharra and the body inside the coffin was violated: with broken limbs torn off.
Spiro Rexho testifies: "The father was sentenced as a priest...! I ate it, because others signed it. They put me in for 1 year and I ended up with 12 years in prison"!

That son originally from the Greek minority, convicted on false charges!

Mr. Spiro, like you and your father, you were convicted and suffered in prison. Can you tell us how and why your father was arrested, what charges were brought against him, where he served his sentence, how he died?

My father was of minority origin and orphaned. His father had died, but also my father's brother, my uncle. He himself was forced to raise his orphaned brothers and his brother's children.

As a young, honest and patriotic man, the village helped him and gave him the opportunity to study at the "Zosimea" gymnasium, Ioannina, where his father graduated from high school to become a teacher. He also completed the "Normal" School of Elbasan, with the approval of Josif Pashko's grandfather, Visarion Pashko, or as he was known otherwise, as Paisi Vodica). About 10-12 minorities went, among them the father, who became a priest for the homeland. They assigned him to Nivica; it was a village where they didn't know a word of Greek; Albanian was his soul and they loved him.

He also participated in the War and this is documented. My father stood out for his patriotic qualities, not that he was my father, but he was one of the first intellectuals along with Lefter Talon, who stood up against the Germans, that's why he is registered in the families of the martyrs of the National Liberation War, because he really fought.

After the war, in 1946, he was arrested and taken to Gjirokastra prison. It was for shooting, but the villagers of Nivica rose up, 19 men and women, went to Gjirokastër in front of the court and said: "He is the good son of the minority, don't punish him, punish us"! They are alive. Then, the sentence was changed from 25 years to 3 years.

When the father was released from prison, he was assigned to villages of Albanian origin, such as in Mursi - a village that did not know Greek at all - for another 20 years, as he was in Nivica. La nam big there too.

So your father languished in prison until 1949. What happened next?

When mass was celebrated in the church, he did not give bread to me first, but to those who were without father and mother, or to the one whose father was in prison. In death, it is never discussed to receive lek, no 10-lek was received. He believed in Christ, he was so trusted that there was no one else. When I went to the army, I had not reached the age, because I was born in 1943, but my birthday was written in 1942.

So you were drafted in 1960?

Yes, that's how I went to be a soldier in Vlora at the age of 17, in the Coastal Artillery Brigade, where there were 70 other people. A friend says to me: "Emigration to Greece"? "How can we leave, you're on your own"? - I say. "We will leave," he says. When…..they come and arrest me. I laughed, because I hadn't done anything.

They had made a document that I had talked about escaping and that I had spoken against Enver. Tajar Bushi comes, he is still alive today, he says in court: "This is the only person who has not spoken against the homeland of the Party". - "Did you come to free him?" - they told him. "No," he said, "I came to tell you the truth."

Was it true that you wanted to escape?

No, brother, they know very well. I was a soldier in Vlora. The one who suggested I run away, admitted that he was guilty and asked me for forgiveness. Yes, he apologized to me. He is the same age as me. They sentenced him to prison. I was also called as a witness, but I did not admit to the investigator that I had talked with him.

In which country did you serve your prison sentence?

I was arrested in Vlora, when I was a soldier and spent 1 and a half years in prison, then in Rubik straight to the mine, for copper extraction. I was sentenced there for 17 years, we were a group. I was arrested on November 19, 1962 and I was in prison until July 1973, so I did 12 years.

From a false accusation of planning to escape, say, that you were not actually caught in any attempt, you were convicted a second time and this time 17 times more than the first time! You entered innocent with a 1 year sentence and became dangerously guilty!

You know? When I was 7 months inside, the decision comes from Tirana, from the investigation, that he is innocent and should be released. However, another one was sentenced with me and this one was bought and stood there saying: "You will go out today, but you have nowhere to sleep. So you better stay here, because today is Friday, tomorrow is Saturday, Sunday. On Monday, the prosecutor and the investigator will come and they will bring you out, because you are innocent".



I didn't even want to eat bread out of joy. I got my family on the phone and told them I was going to be released. Monday, at 10.00, was a black day for me. Petrit Akani, a prosecutor, an honest man, an honest man, came, put his hand here and said: "Spiro, listen, you really are an innocent man, but those over there from the Prosecutor's Office refuse to sign your release, your innocence"!

I told him: "This one from Saranda did it to me, this one didn't follow the orders, this one made a big mess". And so they did not issue me the document, but with 2 false witnesses, they also took me to Rubik, 1 year and two months. The general also came. "Spiro, - he told me, - you will go to prison, but know that you are innocent. You are not alone, there are 82 people".

What do you want? I ate it that they have signed...! This was my story! I went to prison and ended up with 12 years without 3 months. When I was in prison, they also took my father back, because it was another problem, since he was a priest; there were 10-12 priests…..and that of the priests was being prepared….! How about the documents? They arranged it themselves as they wanted. The father died in prison.

Can you tell us about his death? Did you look for his bones?

At that time I was working in Laç, at the Superphosphate Plant, I was a good electrician technician. At that time I was with Bardhyl Belishova. My father dies in Tirana prison. From the information I had, a prison captain brought food from home...! I tried to find out who it was that sent him bread. It was a captain from Peshkopia who gave him the food.

In which prison was the father?

To the old prison in Tirana. We found out that he was buried in Kombinat. The head of the Kombinati cemetery in Sharre, had known one of our uncles who lived in Tirana, and when my brother was interested in the place where he was buried, he helped us and we found him.

But something happened. When we went to take him out, we were all surprised: the body was not placed normally as a person dies, but it was a body part and the legs were thrown to its side...! I do not know. We all saw this: parts of the leg were like this…!

You are right to be surprised, Mr. Spiro. We also have data from other witnesses who were political prisoners that they had a practice of violating corpses in prisons: they cut off their legs with a pickaxe and placed them on top or on the side of their bodies. Then they put them in sacks or small coffins. At least you managed to find your father's grave, because most of them don't even know where they might be buried.

Yes. We found it. We also received some rewards for the time of the war and with them we fixed his grave. It was all made of marble as a monument.

How did you expect democracy?

We couldn't wait for democracy.

Thank you, Mr. Spiro!

Thank you Mr. Marçel, you are interested in our class of political convicts and persecuted, so that people know the horrors of Enver Hoxha's dictatorial communist regime./ Memorie.al


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