Although the Constitutional Court has not yet officially ruled on Tirana Mayor Erion Veliaj, DP leader Sali Berisha has rushed to assume that the decision will be in the mayor's favor. In a statement to the media after the Presidency meeting, Berisha described this as a gift that Rama will give to Veliaj, after treating him like a "serial killer" in prison.
The DP leader even lamented Veliaj's treatment in prison, saying he was forced to defend his rights. Berisha went on to say that the treatment of Veliaj in prison violated the European Convention on Human Rights, the Constitution, and every standard of a state's attitude towards prisoners.
"A gift that Edi Rama, who knows no law or morality, unwittingly gave to his main opponent within the party, Erion Velië. Because he treated him as he said, like a serial killer in a cell, he treated him to such an extent that I, a man whose name I should not have heard, was forced to stand up for the fundamental rights that a person has. He treated him in a way that violated the European Convention on Human Rights, the Constitution and every standard of a state's attitude towards prisoners. And with this he gave Erion Velië the de facto advantage he has today," Berisha said.
Berisha's statement creates the impression that the leader of the Democrat Party wants a decision in favor of Veliaj as a triumph for the treatment he received in prison. Although this eliminates the possibility of the DP regaining the Municipality, in this case it leaves in office a mayor who the DP has protested and accused of corruption.
