Erion Veliaj has decided to put the Special Court in motion where he has appealed a SPAK letter that rejected his request for a meeting with the 4 foreign lawyers. The mayor has hired two law firms, one American and one British, and has filed a letter for permission to meet with Ben Brandon, Daniel Fetterman, Joshua Roberts and Celia Marr with the argument that they will prepare the file for the Strasbourg Court.
The Special Prosecution Office rejected his request on the grounds that Veliaj is represented by two Albanian lawyers and thus his right to defense is guaranteed. According to SPAK, the foreign lawyers have no right to represent him since they are not registered with a law firm in Albania and are not from law firms in EU countries as required by law.
Veliaj insists on meeting with them, as he says they need to prepare the file for Strasbourg, so he asks the court to overturn the SPAK decision and have the meetings take place.
The Mayor of Tirana has been in custody since February 10, 2025. He has been charged with 5 charges along with his ex-wife and 28 other individuals and legal entities.
