The Criminal Court of Kosovo (CCKKO) has acquitted MP and leader of the Opportunity Party, Agron Shehaj, of the criminal offense of defamation, in the case raised following his public statements against the leader of the "Albania Becomes" movement, Adriatik Lapaj.
According to the decision given by Judge Erjon Çela, Shehaj's statements do not meet the elements of the criminal offense of defamation, even though he had accused Lapaj of receiving money from organized crime. However, the court found Shehaj guilty of the criminal offense of insult, sentencing him to a fine of 300 thousand lek.
In the reasoning of the decision, the GJKKO emphasizes that the statements made by Shehaj constitute an insult to the figure of Adriatik Lapaj, but do not reach the level of criminal defamation.
The case was opened after a lawsuit was filed by Adriatik Lapaj, who accused Shehaj of defamation regarding allegations of his connections with underworld figures. Specifically, Shehaj had stated that Lapaj had received 4.5 million lek from a company seized by SPAK, suspected of money laundering on behalf of a criminal group.
For his part, Lapaj denied the accusations, explaining that he had not received any money from the company in question and that it was only about financial obligations related to legal services provided in his capacity as a lawyer.
