Another silent blow to the Special Prosecution Office (SPAK) is related to the protection provided to its prosecutors. Although the institutions formally adopt additional security measures, in practice they remain only on paper.
The High Prosecutorial Council (KLP) has approved a request for additional protection, submitted by the Head of SPAK, for former head Altin Dumani and the prosecutor of the “Balluku” case, Mr. Dritan Prenci. The decision was taken by the Special Commission for the Protection of Prosecutors at the KLP in early January.
But despite this approval, the actual implementation of the measures remains partial. According to VNA sources, the former head of SPAK, Altin Dumani, only has additional protection from the State Police, while there are no additional security measures from the Republic Guard.
Currently, his personal protection is limited to the standard and automatic protection provided for by the Council of Ministers No. 478, dated 10.07.2019. So, even though the request for special protection has been approved by the KLP, no concrete action has been taken by the Republic Guard to implement it. The reasons, although not officially known, can be implied in the current context, when SPAK is in charge of investigations against senior state officials.
At a time when the Special Prosecution Office is investigating matters of high political and economic importance, the lack of effective protection raises serious questions about the real guarantees that the state offers to prosecutors who bear the weight of the most important investigations that may have been conducted in the 30-year history of democracy in Albania.
