The Chairman of the High Council of Justice is chiefly responsible for the situation The court orders prisons emptied, as Berisha did in ’97. The President of the Republic, the chief advocate of corrupt and criminalized justice pages 3, 8, 9

Edi Lesi Corrupt judges and prosecutors, as they fill their pockets with money more and more each day and fill the streets with criminals and legal violations, should rest assured that above them stands a Chairman of the High Council of Justice who seems more interested in cutting ribbons at the completion of some library’s construction than in their activities. If Meidani is right to justify his non-interference in political life on the grounds that he represents national unity, it is disastrous that, under his direct responsibility, lawlessness is flourishing ever more in the courts and prosecutors’ offices. He is the one person before whom judges cannot feel so independent that they need not answer even to rules and standards. If criminals and thieves are being let out of prison, this cannot be happening because of some magical skill their lawyers possess. One must acknowledge a certain professional superiority of lawyers compared with prosecutors and judges. But those who do not deserve it do not always get to enjoy freedom thanks to this. Either prosecutors are extremely incompetent and, since judges rule not on public opinion but on the evidence presented to them, the judges are forced to release lawbreakers. Or the prosecutors are not at fault; they may, for example, submit a mountain of documents to the court, but these still count for less than the millions judges receive. In either case, it is directly Meidani’s fault if they continue to represent Albanian justice. He has the power to remove both judges and prosecutors from office. By choosing to play the same old “neutral role” in justice as in all other spheres, the President of the Republic has allowed some judges and prosecutors, without the slightest hesitation, to rise up and trample with both feet all the laws and all the rules. At this point, the President’s position is no longer neutral: by failing to act, he becomes an accomplice to the judges’ crimes. And the President, who knows the laws well, should keep this article in mind. In fact, the President does not need to do anything extraordinary to install a few traffic lights in the chaos of justice. He simply has to sign the proposals to remove judges from office—proposals that were numerous when Thimio Kondi was minister, and are still being made now that Ilir Panda is minister. While waiting for all parties to make mistakes, so that dozens of files are submitted to him in each case before he makes a decision, Meidani delays carrying out the necessary reforms in justice. As a result, most judges and prosecutors remain the same people who were appointed in Berisha’s time and put on the black robe after the infamous six-month course.

Filip Çakuli President of the Republic Rexhep Meidani during working hours

Today, letters in support of Sali Berisha pour in —pages 20–23