Zani Çaushi divides the Albanian Prosecution Service. In a statement yesterday, Prosecutor General Arben Rakipi described prosecutor Hana’s request to release Zani and his gang as a blunder and called on the Tirana First Instance Court not to take the request into consideration. Rakipi reacted sharply yesterday at midday through his spokesperson, opposing the sentence sought by the prosecutor in the case of Myrteza Çaushi and several others against Zani and the other accused: “It is unexpected and not the logical outcome of the investigation conducted into this case. ‘We hope that the court will, to some extent, correct the case prosecutor’s blunder and that its decision will not be based on the request he submitted at the last court hearing,’ the statement said. Rakipi’s statement says that the prosecution is a centralized body, and that ‘the collective view differed from the one prosecutor Hanaj put forward during his closing arguments.’ The prosecution will take all permitted steps regarding Hanaj’s closing arguments, and, under the law, the Prosecutor General may also seek disciplinary action against him. This is the biggest clash ever to have occurred within the Albanian Prosecution Service. Historically, decisions on such cases have been made collectively, since this body has a leadership structure—especially given that this was the largest trial currently under way. It is reported that before appearing in court on Monday to present his closing arguments, prosecutor Hana consulted with senior officials of the General Prosecutor’s Office and with Rakipi himself. But it seems that he appeared before the judges with a decision that was entirely his own, while Rakipi said yesterday that ‘the collective view differed.’ seen in Tirana, so as not to take this his spokesperson, objecting to the sentence requested some of the other accused, as members of his gang. He described as unfounded prosecutor Xhevat Hanaj’s request to sentence them to the time already spent in pre-trial detention and the decision to withdraw the charges against Zani’s gang. “I hope the court will correct this mistake by the prosecutor,” Rakipi said, urging the judicial panel not to respect this proposal. Indeed, the head of the Republic’s Prosecutor’s Office warned that disciplinary measures could also be taken against prosecutor Hana, up to and including dismissal. On Monday, prosecutor Xhevat Hanaj, in his closing arguments before the judicial panel, lawyers and defendants, requested that the accused Myrteza Çaushi and some of his associates be sentenced to the time they had spent in pre-trial detention, putting all the main charges brought against them at risk for lack of evidence, and accepting as proven only the charge of illegal possession of weapons. According to spokesperson Ardian Visha, Prosecutor General Arben Rakipi said that the request prosecutor Xhevat Hanaj made regarding the sentence “is the final judicial instance,” the statement emphasizes. and that “the common view has been different from this; this is the greatest clash that has ever taken place within the Albanian prosecution service. Historically, decisions in such cases have been collegial, since this body has a ...” But it seems that the judging side has made its decision entirely on its own, since Rakipi stated yesterday that “the common view has been different.”

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Thousands of boxes of expired detergents discovered Quite a few people must have wondered why their hair is breaking, why their scalp itches so much, and why their skin is being damaged. Islam Cani, chairman of the Consumers’ Association, however, has not had to wonder for long. He knows that a very large quantity of expired cosmetics arrived in our country over the past three days, but was spotted by the Association’s watchful eyes. Almost 1,000 boxes of expired hairspray ended up in citizens’ homes. P. 13

Zani with his mother at the court hearing — photo A. RAMA