Albania’s Court of Appeals upheld a one-year prison sentence on Thursday against Ervin Salianji, an opposition Member of Parliament (MP), for falsely reporting a crime. Salianji had accused the former Minister of Interior Affairs of having connections to drug trafficking. This sentencing coincides with the upcoming national elections.
Ylli Manjani, a former Minister of Defense, argues that Salianji’s conviction lacks a legal basis. He contends that the law against false reporting requires that the false complaint be made directly to a prosecutor or court police officer, as stipulated in articles 305/a and 305/b of the Criminal Law, not as a public statement. Manjani maintains that Salianji’s actions do not meet these requirements.
The appeals court, however, held that Article 305 of Albania’s Criminal Code is applicable, which states that falsely reporting a crime or fabricating false evidence is punishable by up to five years in prison. Salianji, a Democratic Party member elected in 2017 and 2021, had released a wiretap in 2018 implicating the brother of the Minister of Interior Affairs, Geron Xhafaj, in drug trafficking. Following the wiretap release, Xhafaj was detained by Italian authorities to serve a pre-existing sentence.
Opposition leaders, including Sali Berisha, have expressed concern over the implications of this sentencing for governmental criticism. They argue that it represents a suppression of dissenting voices, particularly as Salianji is set to lead the upcoming election campaign in a major constituency. Despite his impending imprisonment, Berisha has affirmed Salianji’s role in the campaign.
Following the conviction, Salianji accused one of the judges of having familial ties with government ministers. He declared that this is the first conviction for breaching freedom of speech since Albania’s political pluralism began in the 1990s. In a post on platform X, Prime Minister Edi Rama supported the judgment, accusing Salianji of “tireless disinformation” and “cancerous defamation.”
The prosecutor is set to notify the Assembly and the Mandates Council to lift Salianji’s immunity, after which he will be taken to prison unless the Supreme Court suspends the decision pending appeal. Legal expert Jordan Daci has noted that Salianji has the option to appeal to the Supreme Court, though his surrender to the police post-conviction might suggest acceptance of the punishment, potentially complicating his appeal.