In the Constitutional Court Yesterday at 9:00 a.m., the Constitutional Court, sitting in full formation with 9 members, examined the request submitted by the Socialist parliamentary group to declare unconstitutional the decision of the Tirana Prosecutor’s Office to arrest deputy Fatos Nano. The accusing party consisted of the chairman of the Socialist Party’s parliamentary group, Namik Dokle, and the lawyer and deputy Bashkim Caka. In the case file, in addition to the statements by Dokle and Caka, the Socialist group’s request, the General Prosecutor’s Office’s request to lift Fatos Nano’s immunity, and Parliament’s decision to lift that immunity, a document was also filed in which Fatos Nano expressed his objections concerning the decision of the Tirana Prosecutor’s Office. In this document, which Mr. Feci Gjilani read in court, Fatos Nano calls his arrest arbitrary and unlawful, and contrary to human rights and the laws in force. Dokle and Caka presented irrefutable legal arguments in court proving that the Tirana Prosecutor’s Office had acted under pressure from the party; [unclear] and that its decision had been antological. As such, it must be declared null and void immediately by the Constitutional Court. At the center of their arguments was Article 22 of the constitutional provisions, which states: “A deputy may not be searched, detained, arrested or prosecuted without the consent of the People’s Assembly.” It is in this court’s honor to uphold the law by annulling the decision of the Tirana Prosecutor’s Office, which in practice means releasing Fatos Nano from prison. The Constitutional Court will announce its decision today at 1:00 p.m. Correspondent of “Zëri i Popullit”

At the invitation of the General Secretariat of the International Union of Socialist Youth (IUSY), R. Torel, a delegation of the Albanian Eurosocialist Youth, led by FRESSH vice-chairman Ilir Meta, took part in the I.U.S.Y. World Festival held in Porto, Portugal, from 19 to 25 July. During the Festival, the FRESSH delegation took part in and contributed to the debate on the former Yugoslavia, the meeting of I.U.S.Y. leaders for Europe, the meeting of socialist and social-democratic youth delegations for the Mediterranean, as well as various seminars on social democracy, youth issues, etc. On 24 July, a presentation of Eurosocialist Youth was held in one of the halls of the “Crystal” Palace in Porto, attended by delegations from the German Social Democratic Youth, Spanish Socialist Youth, Danish Social Democratic Youth, Swedish Social Democratic Youth, PASOK youth, etc. Leaders of the International Union of Socialist Youth also attended. First, FRESSH representatives gave an overview of the political and economic situation in Albania. They then presented a history of Eurosocialist Youth from its founding to the present day. Those present watched videos of some of FRESSH’s main activities. This was followed by a question-and-answer session. During its stay in Porto, the FRESSH delegation held separate meetings with I.U.S.Y. President Roger Hallmag; I.U.S.Y. Secretary-General for Europe R. Micallef; I.U.S.Y. Vice-President and leader of the German Social Democratic Youth M. Ruter; and I.U.S.Y. Secretary-General for the European Community and leader of the French Socialist Youth P. Cordery. At these meetings, recognizing FRESSH’s activities and role in support of democratic socialism, the leaders of the International Union committed themselves to more concrete cooperation with the Albanian Eurosocialist Youth.

Speech by Namik Dokle, Chairman of the Socialist Party parliamentary group, addressed to the members of the Constitutional Court Mr. Chairman, Honorable judges, The parliamentary group of the Socialist Party— [fragmentary text] unlawfully imposed by the prosecutor. 3. With the arrest of Fatos Nano, the prosecutor violated several…

Speech by jurist Bashkim Caka

The Socialist Party of Albania, [as printed: “siç”], called on world public opinion and international institutions to condemn the ongoing violations of human rights in Albania. The Socialist Party of Albania, [as printed: “siç”], called on world public opinion and international institutions to condemn is threatening political stability and could even lead to civil war. According to a statement issued by the SPA, the latest example is the imprisonment of Fatos Nano, Chairman of the SPA. He has been accused of stealing 8 million dollars from Italian humanitarian aid in 1991, during the three months he served as prime minister. “But there is no evidence to support the accusations, and two Tirana prosecutors resigned because they did not agree to initiate criminal proceedings against Nano,” the statement, which called on international organizations to condemn this, emphasizes. At the last session of Parliament, the Minister of Agriculture, who is a member of the Democratic Party’s Presidium, declared: “It is [unclear] for me to be a fascist,” and there is a document which continues: “This helps everyone understand what is happening in Albania. It seems that President Berisha has lost control of the situation.” On 30 July, tens of thousands demonstrated in Tirana against violations of rights. After the demonstrations, many people were arrested. Magyor Hiriop 3 August 1993

- Idajet Beqiri in the Tirana Court of Appeals. - After an hour of deliberation, the panel accepts the requests of Mr. Beqiri and lawyer Sanxhaku and postpones the trial to examine the evidence, as well as question the witnesses presented by Mr. Beqiri. - It seems the mountain in labor will give birth to... a mouse Yesterday, at around 9:15, the second hearing in the trial of Idajet Beqiri was held at the Court of Appeals in Tirana, concerning the criminal offense of defamation and insult against the President of the Republic, following his sentence of six months’ imprisonment and his appeal to this court. The presiding judge, Mr. Zija Vuci, together with Mr. Arqile Nini and Dëshira Bubashi, in the presence of prosecutor Kadri Skerа, began the hearing by reading the decision of the court of first instance. He then continued by reading the appeal filed by Mr. Beqiri with this court, an appeal which he rejects and characteri... (Continued on page 2)

After the July 30 rally in Tirana, dozens and dozens of mothers, wives, and sisters of young men and men detained and mistreated by the police turned to the Socialist Women’s Forum with a request: to join them in protesting against human rights violations. Acting on this, the Forum submitted, in accordance with the rules, a request to the Tirana Public Order Directorate to organize a peaceful protest demonstration on Saturday, August 8, at 19:00. This legitimate request by the women was rejected by the Tirana Public Order Directorate on the following grounds: “...because roads and traffic would be blocked. Of course, demonstrations on the streets are organized in almost all democratic countries to address various issues, but this is not a normal practice for demonstrating.” The second reason was that “the police forces on this date and thereafter are engaged in other important duties planned before the request was received,” a reason undermined by the third argument stated in the letter: if the demonstration were to take place in the street, “the police would take measures to disperse the participants.” This response reflects the police’s position of not allowing and rejecting demonstrations or protest gatherings. We do not understand what “reason” democracy has to fear from a peaceful, free protest by women. By refusing, the police violate the right to protests and demonstrations enshrined in constitutional provisions and are precisely what disturb everyday peace. Socialist Women’s Forum

On Friday, over a period of three hours, Serbian border forces fired automatic weapons toward the Albanian border, at a place called “Lugu i Zi,” where they seriously wounded two soldiers and a villager who had gone to help the wounded soldier. According to statements by witnesses to the press, representatives of the Ministry of Public Order went to the scene, along with representatives of the Border Committee, to investigate on site, together with the Yugoslav side, the causes of the incident and to take the necessary measures to ensure that such criminal acts are not repeated in the future. According to the above sources, the soldiers fired at the Albanians 90 meters inside Albanian territory, where they had advanced. At their request, a representative of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs’ Committee for European Affairs in Tirana also went to the scene together with the Albanian side, but the Yugoslav side refused to receive them and they were shamefully turned away. The new Serbian crime against Albanian border guards and Albanian citizens inside Albanian territory is unprecedented in... (Continued on page 4)

THE DOUBTS OF ALBANIAN SOCIALISTS The Socialist Party of Albania, in [unclear] began the criminal case, called on world public opinion and international institutions and condemned the ongoing violations of human rights in Albania. The situation is threatening political stability and could even lead to…

Honorable Chairman, Honorable judges group, addressed to the members of the Constitutional Court Honorable has petitioned the Constitutional Court to declare unconstitutional the decision of the Tirana District Prosecutor to arrest deputy Fatos Nano, for the following reasons: 1. The decision was made in an atmosphere of political pressure, during which Article 71 of the Law on the Fundamental Rights and Freedoms of Man was flagrantly violated. It provides that “No one may be considered guilty unless their guilt has been established by a final court judgment.” This political pressure, which we regard as psychological violence against justice, was exerted by representatives of the legislative and executive branches, as well as by RTV, a state information organ. This is why investigators and prosecutors were repeatedly changed during the examination of the case, until the gaps in the politically dictated orders and violations of legal conscience were found. 2. The decision was made on political orders, because prosecutor Arben Qelesh? and investigator Fatos Dervishi took charge of the case and made the arrest in less than 24 hours, without conducting a full investigation and without familiarizing themselves with everything necessary for taking action. They reasoned as if Fatos Nano were an ordinary citizen, even though, as a deputy, he has other rights established by a different law. 3. By arresting Fatos Nano, the prosecutor violated several constitutional provisions and laws. a) As we also emphasized in our petition, the Tirana District Prosecutor has no right to order the arrest of a deputy without the consent of the People’s Assembly, as clearly stipulated in Article 22 of the Constitutional Provisions. b) The provision in the third paragraph of Article 22 of the Constitutional Provisions concerns a fundamental issue: the arrest of a deputy “de facto” deprives him of the rights and the ability to carry out the duties arising from his mandate. Specifically: Under Law No. 7503, “On the Status of a Deputy of the People’s Assembly,” a deputy has, among other things, the following rights and duties: Article 1: “A deputy of the People’s Assembly is a representative of the people in the highest organ of state power…” How can he represent the people from prison? Article 2: “A deputy has the right and duty to participate regularly in the meetings of the People’s Assembly and its committees, and to freely express his views and those of the constituency he represents…” How can he freely express his views from prison? Article 3: “A deputy requests explanations and … [Text continues with a fragment from another article] … the world Speech by jurist Bashkim Caka As we also set out in our petition, the Socialist Party parliamentary group has asked that the decision to arrest deputy F. Nano be declared unconstitutional, because the decision of the Tirana District Prosecutor’s Office was made in violation of the Law on the “Main Constitutional Provisions,” No. 7491, dated 29.4.1991. The above decision ignored the constitutional provision on the immunity enjoyed by a deputy. Our constitutional provisions, for deputies as well as for other figures such as the president, members of the Government, prosecutors and Constitutional Court judges, etc., have clearly and precisely defined the limits on the powers of the judicial authorities to initiate criminal proceedings against them and to impose other measures provided for in criminal procedural provisions. These arrangements in our legislation are essential and highly democratic. They are founded on the experience of other countries and will positively serve the establishment and functioning of a state governed by the rule of law. The special status accorded to deputies, judges and others in criminal proceedings is not a privilege, but a necessity to ensure that each is guaranteed the ability to perform their functions, safeguard the independence of the branches of power to which they belong, and prevent them from becoming the subject of proceedings arising from political tensions. In all these respects, our constitutional laws are generally precise. This is also stipulated in Article 22 of the Main Constitutional Provisions, which explicitly prosecuted without the consent of Parliament.” Thus, a grammatical and logical interpretation of this provision clearly shows that Parliament’s consent to prosecute, arrest, detain or search a deputy must be expressly stated and granted by Parliament. Consent must be given for each of the actions covered by the provision. Contrary to the above, the Tirana District Prosecutor ordered the arrest of F. Nano. The People’s Assembly did not give this prosecutor’s office consent to arrest him; indeed, the prosecution itself did not submit a request to the People’s Assembly to obtain its consent to arrest F. Nano. Letter No. 1117 dated 26.3.1993 from the General Prosecutor states: “… the request to carry out investigative actions concerning deputy Fatos Nano should be submitted to the People’s Assembly for consideration, [and] his immunity lifted.” The People’s Assembly decision to lift immunity also states that the General Prosecutor asked the People’s Assembly to give its consent to initiate criminal proceedings… (Continued on page 4)