Deputies will also discuss homosexuals Debate on the death penalty TIRANE — The parliamentary journey of the new Penal Code has now reached its final stage. On Monday the draft code will begin to be examined by the parliamentary groups as well. Non-governmental organizations have meanwhile begun to comment on the controversial aspects. “On Friday the Albanian Helsinki Committee made its observations public. It seems that the death penalty will again be one of the law’s debated aspects. Still in force for a number of crimes in the draft Code — although the idea of abolishing it has been raised from many quarters at home and abroad — capital punishment will continue to be carried out in the name of justice. This is also the view of the KSHH experts, for whom, however, the 11 categories of crimes that, according to the draft, would be punishable should in any case be fewer. “This punishment should be limited to the minimum necessary and for very serious crimes,” says the KSHH’s observations. Some sanctions — according to the KSHH — are still too severe. In light of the organization’s activity, deputies should therefore also review this special part of the code. Another delicate issue remains the punishment of homosexuality in a draft that has also come under pressure from abroad. “It should be considered purely a personal choice,” the KSHH suggested. (b.)

The opposition's proposal in Parliament TIRANE — The debate on the constitution will return to parliament next week. The amendment to the law on constitutional provisions, proposed by the Socialist Party and the Social Democrats, has been placed on the agenda for this week approved by the Presidium of the People's Assembly. First in the legal committee and then in plenary session, this will be the first time the draft will be examined. The amendment requested by the opposition parties first concerns a change to the famous Article 162, which deals with the path the constitutional draft must follow in order to become the fundamental law of the country. The opposition has asked that it be specified that this law, and also an amendment to the content of Article 44, will define relations between the representative members of the different parties and the manner in which the draft is selected in committee. The amendment proposed by the socialists now has gained weight and on the day it was made has also helped strengthen the view that the day after the meeting on the Constitution between party representatives, “Parliament approves the Constitution by an absolute majority of votes, after which it is ratified by referendum of the people”; this is the essence of the proposal requested by the opposition. This concept has also emerged as the “Achilles' heel” in the disagreements between the opposition and the majority. The latter has insisted on the opposite route: referendum and then ratification by parliament. According to Parliament's weekly calendar, the discussion of this issue in plenary session should take place next Thursday. That will be the day that will show whether Article 162 will be changed or not, but in any case, if the parties are taken into consideration, the amendment has little chance of passing. There are only a few days left before the constitutional commission and, since they had won the internal vote, the opposition's view is that the commission's decision, whether by consensus or in the absence of it, should be taken by absolute majority of votes. (b.)

Shkodër, after the grave disaster SHKODER — They wanted to save the goods, but ended up at the bottom of the lake. This seems to have been the fatal reason that led to the tragic drowning on Thursday morning of 10 people who had set off toward Montenegro. The many attempts to rescue the drowned, almost all of them, have not been able to withstand the harsh cold of the waters in which the bodies had been thrown for hours one after another. By Friday evening none of them had been recovered. Intensive searches continue on the lake, involving numerous specialized police, army, and diving units. The identities and names of the victims are still inaccurate: it is known only that they were from the village of Golem and from the Great Highlands, and that three of them were members of the same family. With so much information expected, there are many relatives and family members of the drowned. Among them and many others whose curiosity was drawn by this tragedy, more than a thousand people have gathered. The Kosaint shore — the area toward which the people had set off and which is one of the main points of smuggling traffic — was crowded throughout Friday. Everyone feels, amid shock and horror, the tears of those who cannot remain on land; only the police are there. Investigations have already begun into how it might have happened; the bodies of their loved ones, in a way beyond control — like everyone else’s — at least rest in the cemeteries. This tragedy happened on Friday, in a boat carrying 14 people that had set out toward Montenegro. It was loaded with various goods, which the group of clandestine travelers had intended to sell across the border. The weight of their bodies, along with the load, caused the small vessel to undertake a dangerous journey that day. Although they knew that lightening the boat by removing the excess cargo could make the crossing safer, they preferred to protect their “wealth” and thus met immediate death, except for some members of the group — as if more fortunate — who swam to safety. It seems that the search for the victims’ bodies in Lake Shkodër will continue for days on end. The mist and overcast weather make things even more difficult, with internal currents that complicate every action eagerly awaited by all. Arlinda Cuqsholli Lake Shkodër, where the tragedy occurred, and one of the immersions in the water Lake Shkodër, where the tragedy occurred, and one of the plunges into the water

The storm in the justice system reaches Elbasan: judge dismissed ELBASAN — The storm that has erupted over the Albanian justice system has also reached the Elbasan court. While in Kavajë and Korçë it sent two court presidents to prison cells, here it took the form of a dismissal from work; judge Alketa Kola has been removed from office. The decision, taken by the High Council of Justice, was communicated to Ko- 23-year-old on Thursday at midday. “Issuing unjust decisions” is the reasoning that has now sent the Elbasan judge home. The reason for this severe measure was 5 cases that granted freedom to 5 convicts who had served only half of their sentence. But according to a new law issued recently, these convicts were supposed to be granted conditional release only if they had served half of their sentence. This is precisely where Kola’s objection arose. “I was punished for a law I did not know,” the Elbasan judge explained to Gazeta Shqiptare. “It had only recently been issued, and the official gazette in which it was published reached the court only after the decisions had been made.” However, it seems that the High Council of Justice’s measure did not come as a complete surprise to Kola, since in July of this year she had already been warned and notified of violations by the Court of Cassation. Me. Ki

TIRANE — Two police officers on duty were also injured by the arrested “killer.” This is the latest confirmation of the tragic event that took place on Wednesday evening in the Bujqit area of Tirana. The authorities state that the arrested Kujtim Cana, after killing his cellmate — detained for a fatal motorcycle accident — also attacked two of the duty officers, causing them serious injuries by striking them with a brick and with punches. Meanwhile, on Friday the family of the victim Bajram Brahim took the body of their relative from the Tirana Morgue, while the Prosecutor’s Office had already finalized the charges against the arrested Cana. He now faces — in addition to the first charge for the murder of his uncle — another for the murder of his cellmate, as well as “assault because of duty,” referring to the attack on the prison police officers. The other criminal matter probably belongs to the military investigators, who will verify the measures taken in the isolation cells, although it is believed that the brick used in the cell murder had been detached precisely from its repaired walls. i. t.

Proceedings in the Military Court TIRANE — Six months in prison for the bell policeman. This was the decision of the military court of Tirane for Ardi Vogli — former police employee in the Public Order Branch of Krujë — against whom, for the past three months, charges of “use of state property” and “forgery of official documents” had been pending. The event that put the 40-year-old Voga under accusation concerns a valuable bell, which since September '93 had been kept in storage at the Public Order Branch of Krujë. Stolen some time earlier in Pukë — but later discovered — a separate criminal case had also been opened over the bell. After months in the warehouses of the Public Order Branch of Krujë, according to the indictment, this very bell was taken by the accused Voga to his home. Meanwhile, although this fact was still at issue in the trial, the police defendant Voga admitted it, but not for reasons of appropriation. In his defense Voga stated that through the document intervention he had wanted to transport the bell to a unit of the Ministry of Order, but although they had accepted it they had later asked for it in Krujë and — unable to deliver it to the Ministry of Order’s road office — it had been left for a short time at his home. Now this story, judged through six months in prison, has cost the former police employee Kadri Voga seven years in prison. He has also remained with half of the sentence still to serve. (b.)

LIBRAZHD — He has ended up in the dock in the Librazhd branch. Ismail Seta, the head of the city police station and the district prosecutor, for responsibility for protecting people from criminals. Preparations before the trial continued for the wounding of one person and other charges [?]. Me. Ki.

Korçë, a new mosque The city’s new mosque has been inaugurated in Korçë. Its construction cost $120,000, donated by a Kuwaiti family — and all the work was completed in 4 months over several hundred square meters. It includes a prayer hall and 4 other spaces such as classrooms and reading rooms where Arab children, the elderly, and women can learn religion. It is believed that the first classes will have 90 students, who together with religious instruction will also receive other modern knowledge. The Albanian Academy protests A strong protest by the Albanian Academy against the arrival in Macedonia of the action described as a violation against the country’s peace and human rights, “War for peace and human rights and the Albanians of Tetovo [...] Albanian academics,” it is written in the Albanian Academy’s protest statement.

GAZETA TV SHQIPTARE

DO YOU HAVE SOMETHING TO SELL? DO YOU HAVE SOMETHING TO BUY? This space is free for you and for economic notices. Send your message with all details to our addresses: In Tirana: Rruga Bajram Curri, 370, or in Bari: Viale Scipione l'Africano, 264. Indicate in your message what you are looking for and offering, your name and address SEEKING — To rent, a 13-room private house near a pharmacy in 10. Preferably with uninterrupted water supply. For further information you may call 036/46. FOR SALE — A “Mercedes 200 S” with gasoline engine at a very reasonable price. Contact Auto-për servis Tirana. Tel. 274-45, 2513. FOR RENT — A 2+1 house with terrace and large corridor, near renovation, Address: Rr. Siri Kodra 53/1. Interested persons may contact the above address. EXCHANGE — A prefabricated 2+1 apartment, first floor, in the city [?] school, for a 2+1 apartment in Tirana. FOR SALE — A 2+1 apartment, with corridor and bathroom, first floor, Rruga “Niko Avrami”, building 2, staircase 4, No.25 Tirana, Telephone 333-66. FOR RENT — A warehouse with an area of 96 m2, located opposite the offices of NTNP in Shkozë-Durrës. For further information you may call in the evening after 19:30 at 236-41, or arrange a meeting at the warehouse location from 7 to 14 every day. AVAILABLE — A plot of land of 10,000 m2 with bathrooms, bordering the Wood Combine (Naraz area), vacant, for various investments. For further details, you may contact me at telephone number 042/244 45 FOR SALE — A 1+1 apartment near the American Embassy. With kitchenette, balcony, and parking space. I also build 2+1 or exchange for 2+1 with cash compensation. Interested parties should call: 236-49 from 8 to 15. FOR RENT — A warehouse of 800-1000 square meters with a yard for parking, in a high-traffic area. Interested parties may call 237-62 with the secretary. FOR SALE — Two large buildings. One with 20 rooms and the other with 10 rooms. They are in good condition, suitable for a hotel, offices, a disco, and with a courtyard that can accommodate both. They are located near the Ardenica-Lushnjë monastery. Interested persons should go to: Rr. Miço Papuçiu No. 28, Laja 15 Tetori. For more information, call: 26/6.

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