The Minister of Order is outraged by the judges’ decision to release criminals Poçi: I resign if Merlani does not act “The President should dismiss the judges who released the guilty” Page 5 The police, a lot of work for nothing The Minister of Order, Poçi, did not address a concrete theme yesterday through a protest requested insistently in the name of the High Council of Justice, so in front of the officials, the Albanian justice system continues to be obstructed; cases continue to remain on the shelves of the courts, while the guilty go free. Yesterday this created not only alarm, but also great outrage in the Minister of Order, Poçi, after the court’s decision to release the aggressors of MP Azem Hajdari, which led to police protests. On the other hand, he has asked the President of the Republic, by means of a direct telegram, to take measures to dismiss the judges who, according to him, have issued unjust decisions. “It seems that there are corrupt judges, as is the case of this court, which has issued not only an unjust decision, but also one that encourages criminal activity,” says the minister’s telegram addressed to the head of state. The requested limits also seem to have sparked other reactions from the highest judicial bodies. Yesterday’s developments were organized in order to bring matters up to the highest responsibilities, for agreement with the prosecutor’s office and the police to make it possible to investigate the serious घटनements. Also, during the morning of yesterday there were reactions from the Tirana police, who protested in front of the first-instance court building. The President of the Court of First Instance, Islami, said that the police protests and their appearance with weapons in front of the court premises were a clear blackmail against the judges. In this situation, the atmosphere appears extremely tense, while the High Council of Justice is expected to convene. Page 5

Joining the EU should not come with delays The pact, many projects, few ideas Europe should not come to agreements with the Balkans’ lies, while it still needs a clear direction, and especially the line of legislation should be followed together with that of the European Union. This is how the Italian prime minister expressed himself during his stay in Durrës. According to him, the role of the Albanian government should be to monitor institutions and coordinate reforms. That was the prime minister’s opinion, who stressed that caution is needed, but without losing the pace of integration. In this situation, development projects are also increasing, but according to him the idea of delaying them should be avoided. Page 24

Azem’s first anniversary, readiness number 1 Berisha: “I know the killers, but I won’t say who they are” Pages 12–13