After the rejection of the request of Fatmir Mediu and his lawyers to exclude judge Irena Gjoka from the “Gërdeci” case, it is now the judge herself who is seeking to withdraw from the process. On November 11, Gjoka addressed the deputy president of the GJKKO, Erion Bani, submitting the request for removal from the judicial panel.
In her argument, the judge states that she is in a state of incompatibility, as she was part of the preliminary hearing of this case and considered the defendant's initial request for a summary trial. After Mediu changed her position and switched to regular procedure, the process continued for more than a year.
Asked by Mediu's lawyers during yesterday's hearing, Gjoka explained that the decision to leave is partly related to the defense's previous request for her exclusion, which was rejected by Judge Etleva Deda, but for other reasons. It is now expected that the head of the GJKKO, Erion Bani, will express his opinion on this request.
Meanwhile, yesterday's hearing continued with Mediu's objections to the experts' statements. The process is in the final phase of presenting evidence by SPAK and the hearing of witnesses requested by the defense is expected to begin.
