INTERVIEW/ The head of the Vlora bench: Pressure over a case I was hearing Artur Malaj: I did not show the message to my family, only to the police. The threat-maker Mentor Mustafaraj was sentenced in 2011 for false accusation; he fabricated corruption of 30,000 euros against a judge The news Mentor Mustafaraj threatened to kill his daughter and wife because chief judge Artur Malaj was hearing a civil case involving Mustafaraj’s friend, Astrit Alushi. The threat came via an SMS message, and after a report to the police, within a week Mustafaraj was identified and arrested; he is known in Vlora as a person with a criminal record. TIRANA ELTON QYNO I am going to kill your daughter and wife if you do not solve the case as it should be solved.” This is the text that Mentor Mustafaraj sent to the chairman of the Vlora Court, Artur Malaj, who was hearing a civil case registered… Continues on page 3 In the photo: The chief judge of Vlora, Artur Malaj (above) facsimile of the court decision showing the false-accusation scheme and the 6-month prison sentence of the man arrested by the Vlora police, Mentor Mustafaraj In the photo: The chief judge of Vlora, Artur Malaj (above) facsimile of the court decision showing the false-accusation scheme and the 6-month prison sentence of the man arrested by the Vlora police, Mentor Mustafaraj

Commentary BY GENCI KODHELI Yesterday the police in Berat handcuffed the chief of the village of Rërëz and began criminal proceedings against the mayor of Kutallia after 170 cannabis plants were found in the commune’s territory. Up to this point, there is nothing in the news; none of the above should be news. According to the law, the heads of local units have responsibility and must report cannabis planting, and if they do not, they bear criminal responsibility. What certainly surprises many people in this country is the zealous effectiveness and readiness of the police structures in Berat to arrest a village chief and bring a commune mayor under criminal investigation (who, as it happens, turns out to have been elected under the logo of the Socialist Party), because the police certainly did their duty, but meanwhile 70 km further south of Kutallia, in the commune of Lazarat (which, as it happens, is a stronghold of the Democratic Party), the police do not even dare enter the most famous village in Albania, from where tons of cannabis come out, and from which the police only occasionally stop some small load. Sadly, this shows the seriousness and strength of a state that shamefully surrenders before criminal activity, and the amateurish lives in terms of the operational effort of how it Continues on page 6

THE FORMER PRIME MINISTER SPEAKS AFTER THE RACE The self-proclaimed candidate attacks Rama. Party race or parallel list of MPs TIRANA BLENDI FEVZIU The former chairman of the SP, Fatos Nano, in the interview on “Opinion” with Blendi Fevziu, said that he would not accept in the SP, or if he does not overthrow the chairman of the SP... Pages 6-7

Heart attack: the causes, how to prevent it and how to treat it Pages 13-20

The lottery scandal deepens, as the Turks also denounce the conditions Page 9

January 21, Hekuran Deda was killed while lighting a cigarette Page 10

Baçe: The enclosure of the Palace of the Brigades should be torn down, it has no value Page 12

Page 4 Rama in Brussels: Do not penalize us for entering the EU

Page 22 Gjergj Bojaxhi: After Everest, the challenge will be Argentina

Page 21 Esad Pasha to Ismail Qemali in 1913: You are the traitor

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