The Supreme Court has rejected the appeal of the mayor of Tirana, Erion Veliaj, leaving the security measure of "prison arrest" in force.
Veliaj had requested a change in the security measure, proposing milder measures such as a "property guarantee" or "obligation to report to the judicial police". His request was reviewed in today's session, but was not accepted by the Supreme Court, which upheld the Appeals Court's decision no. 53 (87_2026_68), dated 24.02.2026.
The appeal was filed on May 6, just two days after the decision of the Joint Panels of the Supreme Court, which set out a new approach to security measures, emphasizing that detention in prison should be a measure of last resort and justified with concrete arguments, after considering lighter alternatives.
In his request, Veliaj argued that the legal conditions did not justify the continuation of the most severe security measure, but his claims did not convince the trial panel.
Erion Veliaj has been in prison custody since February 10, 2025, while SPAK has filed 13 charges against him, including passive corruption, money laundering, abuse of office and other criminal offenses.
