Journalist Klodiana Lala, invited to the show "The Unexposed" on MCN TV, explained the delays in the Veliaj case, which has gone to trial after four months.
Lala said that it was Veliaj's strategy to play "ping-pong" with lawyers, to delay the process, while now he has ended up with a lawyer primarily appointed, paid for by Albanian citizens, even though Veliaj also has foreign lawyers he has hired.
"The Special Court passed for trial the file of Veliaj and 29 other individuals, as well as non-profit organizations and companies, which according to SPAK are directly or indirectly controlled by Ajola Xoxa.
The criminal case was sent for trial in September 2025, according to the law that the special court operates, there should be a maximum of a preliminary hearing to decide whether or not to proceed to trial. For four months, Veliaj has been playing ping-pong with lawyers. There were two lawyers with prosecutors, when the preliminary hearing began, he decided to remove the lawyers, to appoint another lawyer.
The court gave the lawyer time to present his arguments. At the moment when Gjermeni was to present his conclusions, Veliaj revoked the lawyer and the court appointed the state lawyer, Valentina Teodorescu, as the main one. She requested time to familiarize herself with the file and permission to meet with Veliaj in the Durrës detention center. She claimed that due to the economic inability to pay for the taxi, she requested more time to consult with Mr. Veliaj. She said that she could not afford a taxi, that she had no other way to travel to the detention center, she reasoned that she had not had the necessary time. Artan Gjermeni requested that the same solution be found as with the Minister of Health, who goes from the detention center to the court to study the file.
The judge considered the fact that Veliaj changed lawyers a challenge to justice and ordered the file with 13 criminal charges against Veliaj, 9 of which are for corruption, to be reviewed. According to the prosecution, Veliaj has created a complex scheme of money laundering and corruption.
Veliaj has claimed that he has been denied the right to effective defense. Prosecutors have said that he has foreign law firms to protect him and his image, but now he is going to trial and there will be a confrontation.
I have a criticism of the court, as it has maintained different standards for different cases. There are allegations that printed file acts are not provided and that they do not have laptops in detention. I think the court should unify a practice and clarify how defendants can familiarize themselves with their criminal file.
I saw the delays as a strategy by Mr. Veliaj. A mayor has requested protection from the state, Albanian citizens are even paying for his lawyer.
"The fact that he has two well-known international companies that reacted officially," said Lala.
