To the jeers of his loyal MPs, who lit coloured flares in protest, Albania’s parliament has voted to strip the country’s former president of his legal immunity after he was charged with corruption.
Sali Berisha, 79, who dominated Albanian politics in the early 1990s as head of state and again as conservative prime minister between 2005 and 2013, now faces probable arrest and, if found guilty, a sentence of between four and 12 years in jail.
“I am stronger than ever,” Berisha said as he left the chamber surrounded by bodyguards. He has long denied all wrongdoing, dismissing the investigation as a “purely political” witch-hunt instigated by his arch-rival, the current socialist prime minister, Edi Rama.
“This decision will not achieve its aim of destroying the opposition; rather, it will mobilise it with the motto: now or never,” he said, as MPs from his opposition Democratic party piled chairs high and ignited smoke bombs in the chamber.
Outside, meanwhile, several hundred of Berisha’s supporters protested as police cordoned off the parliament building and officers in anti-riot gear and equipped with water cannon stood by in case of violence after the decision, which passed by 75 votes to 65.
The veteran politician and his son-in-law, Jamarber Malltezi, were charged in October with “passive corruption” dating back to 2008, when Berisha’s government introduced a law allowing the privatisation of sports facilities expropriated under communism.
Albania’s special prosecutor’s office for corruption and organised crime alleges that the legal changes profited business projects in which Berisha and Malltezi had financial stakes and that the two men collected €5.4m in kickbacks.
Malltezi allegedly took advantage of the legislation to convert a sports complex in Tirana owned by the defence ministry into flats. He was arrested after being charged, while Berisha was barred from leaving the country.
Prosecutors demanded a vote to revoke the former leader’s immunity after he refused to cooperate with authorities during the investigation and ignored a measure requiring him to report to police twice a month.
Watchdogs regularly rank Albania, one of the poorest countries in Europe, as one of the most corrupt on the continent. Last year, Berisha was banned from entering the US and the UK over alleged involvement in organised crime and corruption.
The US has accused Berisha of “misappropriating public funds and interfering with public processes”, saying that as prime minister he had “used his power for his own benefit” and to “enrich” relatives and allies. He has denied the accusations.
Reuters and Agence France Presse contributed to this report
