Yesterday in the Tirana court: The defense fully challenges the indictment and proves the political motivation of the trial FATOS NANO DENOUNCES BEFORE THE COURT PANEL THE POLITICAL PERSECUTION OF THE OPPOSITION IN ALBANIA - As clear evidence of this, he cited the public statements of President Berisha and Prime Minister Meksi, in which the opposition is labeled as an enemy - CHRONICLE FROM THE DEFENSE SESSION - Part 13, direct from the trial - to be published in April: explanations of the court panel's decision - The court argues convincingly, factually and Marxist-Leninist that the future of Albania is its past. Anyone who had ears and eyes understood that the preliminary decision of 24 March had received yet another special additional argument, cooked up yesterday expressly in the courtroom. After 5 hours and 20 minutes, mainly reciting K. V. according to the scientific heritage of the 110-odd professors of Marxism-Leninism and later 62 of the 110 doctor-professors with swamp status, Nano stood up again. Perhaps to remind them that judges have been and are normal human beings if they have carefully read the results of trials in the communist Eastern countries from the time of their "blossoming"; perhaps to remind them that the civilized world is increasingly focusing on Albania to judge what is happening. Perhaps to tell them that they will deliver not only a court ruling, but also a decision of political and moral weight. 1994 is the year in which we inherited the democratic system, and the country is going through difficult trials. In these circumstances, Nano said, the parliamentary opposition cannot be pursued as a political enemy. It cannot be labeled and treated as an enemy. The President of the Republic and the Prime Minister have publicly called the opposition an enemy, and have even used expressions that exclude it from political life. These statements are evidence that the process is not merely legal, but deeply political. In his defense, he presented to the court panel documents, public statements and positions expressed in the media by President Berisha and Prime Minister Meksi. According to him, these statements prove not only prejudice against the opposition, but also the climate that preceded and accompanied the trial. He stressed that there can be no impartial justice when the executive power preemptively articulates the political guilt of the opponent. Nano said that the socialist opposition has acted and continues to act within political pluralism and that the accusations against it aim to delegitimize it in public opinion. He asked the court panel not to become an instrument of a political course that sees the opponent as an enemy to be eliminated. He said that the history of political trials is well known and that the responsibility of justice is not to repeat it. According to the defense, Albania's future cannot be built on the logic of exclusion, ideological labeling and the punishment of the opposition. If that happens, then the country is not moving toward Europe, but toward a return to the models of the past. For this reason, he said, this trial has taken on a broader meaning than the personal fate of the accused. (Continues on page 3)

Fatos Nano's statement in court 2014 year-old From gentlemen prosecutors and saligators. [? ] You have now instrumentalized the accusation to the point of absurdity. Its spirit and law, whose life and essence in public criminality and the administration of justice are, at the very least, the word and at most its logic and argument, are in conflict with what is happening today in this hall. Today I consider myself in a situation where I must defend myself not only from a badly constructed accusation, but from a political climate that precedes the verdict. The accusations brought against me are not legal evidence, but political constructions. They attempt to present as criminal responsibility actions that do not constitute it. For this reason I say that the Nano case as a criminal case does not exist. There exists only an attempt to criminalize a political opponent and to dress this attempt in the cloak of law. I have respect for justice, but I cannot remain silent when justice is used as a façade. In this process, statements by the highest state officials who have prejudged me publicly have been brought forward. This is enough to understand that the problem is not criminal, but political. If an opposition can be declared an enemy and then brought to the defendant's bench, then we are dealing with a serious deformation of the rule of law. My defense is not only a personal defense. It is also a call for Albania not to return to the old practices of exclusion and political punishment. Democracy cannot be built on fear of the opposition. It is built on competition, law and equality before it. (Continues on page 4)

The newspaper continues to present in full the speech of the defense lawyer in the trial against Fatos Nano. In his argument, he challenged the basis of the accusation, the logic behind its construction, and the political use of the process. According to the defense, the case does not stand as a criminal file, but as an undertaking to strike at the political opposition. He underlined that the prosecution has not presented sufficient evidence and that many of its assessments are interpretations, not facts. The defense lawyer said that in a rule-of-law state, judgment must be based on evidence, not on political statements and public labels. He pointed out that the political climate created around the process has led public opinion to be prepared in advance for a presumed guilt. This, he said, runs counter to the principle of the presumption of innocence. (Continues on page 3)

LONDON

ENGLISH ZËRI I POPULLIT = The Voice of the People OFFICIAL ORGAN OF THE SOCIALIST PARTY OF ALBANIA = Official organ of the Socialist Party of Albania Thursday, 31 March 1994 = Thursday, 31 March 1994 Price 5 LEKË = Price 5 lek Yesterday in the Tirana court: The defense fully challenges the indictment and proves the political motivation of the trial = Yesterday in the Tirana court: The defense fully challenges the indictment and proves the political motivation of the trial FATOS NANO DENOUNCES BEFORE THE COURT PANEL THE POLITICAL PERSECUTION OF THE OPPOSITION IN ALBANIA = Fatos Nano denounces before the court panel the political persecution of the opposition in Albania As clear evidence of this, he presented the public statements of President Berisha and Prime Minister Meksi, in which the opposition is labeled as an enemy = As clear evidence of this, he presented the public statements of President Berisha and Prime Minister Meksi, in which the opposition is labeled as an enemy CHRONICLE FROM THE DEFENSE SESSION = Chronicle from the defense session The Nano case as a criminal matter does not exist = The Nano case as a criminal matter does not exist Fatos Nano's speech in court = Fatos Nano's speech in court THE SPEECH OF LAWYER SANXHAKU = The speech of lawyer Sanxhaku ITALIANO ZËRI I POPULLIT = La Voce del Popolo OFFICIAL ORGAN OF THE SOCIALIST PARTY OF ALBANIA = Organo ufficiale del Partito Socialista d'Albania Thursday, 31 March 1994 = Giovedì 31 marzo 1994 Price 5 LEKË = Prezzo 5 lek Yesterday in the Tirana court: The defense fully challenges the indictment and proves the political motivation of the trial = Ieri nel tribunale di Tirana: la difesa contesta pienamente l'accusa e dimostra la motivazione politica del processo FATOS NANO DENOUNCES BEFORE THE COURT PANEL THE POLITICAL PERSECUTION OF THE OPPOSITION IN ALBANIA = Fatos Nano denuncia davanti al collegio giudicante la persecuzione politica dell'opposizione in Albania As clear evidence of this, he presented the public statements of President Berisha and Prime Minister Meksi, in which the opposition is labeled as an enemy = Come prova chiara di ciò, egli ha presentato le dichiarazioni pubbliche del Presidente Berisha e del primo ministro Meksi, nelle quali l'opposizione viene etichettata come nemica CHRONICLE FROM THE DEFENSE SESSION = Cronaca dalla seduta della difesa The Nano case as a criminal matter does not exist = Il caso Nano come questione penale non esiste Fatos Nano's speech in court = Il discorso di Fatos Nano in tribunale THE SPEECH OF LAWYER SANXHAKU = Il discorso dell'avvocato Sanxhaku