Lawyer Kujtim Cakrani has reacted for the first time after the termination of cooperation with Ilir Meta, explaining the reasons for leaving the legal defense of the former president.
In an interview with moderator Dafina Hysa on Top News, Cakrani said that the professional relationship with Meta ended after 13 months of representation, emphasizing that "nothing extraordinary" had happened.
"Nothing extraordinary has happened. Relationships and agreements are broken. For 13 months, I have been Mr. Meta's legal representative and I think I have represented him fairly from all perspectives. I have done an extraordinary service to the former president. The relationship has ended today and a distrust had been created, at least in the last two court hearings," he said.
Asked if the departure was related to his statement that there was no conspiracy against Meta by Monika Kryemadhi or Shatku, Cakrani insisted that his position was based solely on the evidence in the file.
"From the witnesses and the acts in the file, I have not seen any conspiracy against him. Yes, I have seen a political conspiracy against him, but not a conspiracy related to the court file. There is no conspiracy by Kryemadhi or by the witnesses, including Mr. Shatku. Mr. Meta thinks otherwise, but I do not share this position. No one can dictate my defense line to me," the lawyer declared.
According to Cakran, there are "misperceptions" in the file, but no evidence that criminally implicates Meta.
"Meta is innocent and there is no evidence implicating him in criminal charges, but I have told him that there is no conspiracy against him," he said.
The lawyer added that, according to his conviction, there is a political conspiracy against Meta that began years ago.
"There is a political conspiracy by Mr. Meta's political enemies that have been going on since 2009. It has continued even during the alliance with the Socialist Party from certain segments of it and from people that Ilir Meta knows very well, from prosecutors, former prosecutors to Ambassador Juri Kim and McGonigal. Mr. Meta knows very well who is behind the conspiracy, but not from those for whom he has the perception in mind," Cakrani said.
However, he reiterated that he remains convinced of the former president's innocence.
"I continue to insist that Mr. Meta is innocent. He is there for political reasons and there are no criminal facts against him. I am convinced of this and I will maintain it until the end. He should be tried in a free state," the lawyer declared.
At the end of the interview, Cakrani was also asked if he would agree to be Monika Kryemadhi's lawyer. He did not rule out this possibility, answering: "Never say never. The profession takes you where you don't think."