Ilir Meta has submitted an official request to the Special Court regarding the way he is being presented in the courtroom, opposing his placement in a glass cabin or metal isolation structure.
In the filed document, the defense requests the recognition of a violation of constitutional rights and the removal of physical barriers, demanding that Meta be seated next to his lawyer throughout the entire judicial process.
The defense argues that placing him in a closed cabin violates Article 3 of the European Convention on Human Rights, which prohibits inhuman and degrading treatment.
The 800,000-euro villa
The evidence listed by SPAK in the case file against Meta and Kryemadhi shows a broad corruption scheme in which businessman Samir Mane appears directly involved in corrupting them.
One of the main accusations against Meta is the benefit of a villa in Rolling Hills, following amendments to the mining law made according to the requests of the Meta–Kryemadhi couple.
SPAK emphasizes in the file that “there are suspicions of a corrupt relationship” between them. Mane has been questioned several times by SPAK but is currently not under investigation, as the criminal offense is time-barred.
The file also includes messages between Monika Kryemadhi and Samir Mane, initially discussing taking an apartment at “Ambasadori”, but later it is noted that a villa was preferred because “there are too many people there and Ilir is not comfortable, better at the villas”. Mane writes to Kryemadhi about the villa or apartment: “whenever you want, and however you want”.
Later, Meta reportedly withdrew from the villa after learning that the Greek ambassador, Oktapodas, was aware of the gift, but work on the villa continued for months, as Meta had requested the installation of a “sauna”.
Businessman Samir Mane lied to SPAK prosecutors
In his statements, Mane denies having any relationship with Meta and Kryemadhi, saying he “never asked them for any kind of help” and that communications related to mining legislation were made in his capacity as a member of the Mining Association. He claims the legal amendments “had no financial effect”.
The file also contains testimony from Saimir Boka, former director of Albchrome, who explains that the company requested legal changes regarding the servitude of galleries and shafts in order to support its operations.
SPAK has uncovered extensive personal communication between Kryemadhi and Mane, including coffee meetings, trips, and various benefits. A series of messages and financial documents show payments made by Mane’s wife, Eva Mane, for the trips of Monika Kryemadhi and Meta’s children to Disneyland Paris and a Beyoncé concert, with invoices amounting to thousands of euros.
According to the file, tickets and accommodation were booked in business class and in high-category hotels.
SPAK also discovered that Mane gave false statements about the conversations regarding the villa, as messages retrieved from Kryemadhi’s phone, from the period 2013–2014, show continuous communication between them about the villa and the apartment.
The file cites:
“I’m here with Zamo,” Kryemadhi writes in a message to Meta, describing details of the “gift”.
In another instance, Mane writes to Kryemadhi: “Wherever you want and however you want”, referring to the still-undefined villa or apartment.
SPAK concluded that the Meta–Kryemadhi couple benefited from this villa “in exchange for unlawful influence” on public institutions and LSI-appointed MPs, approving Law no. 134/2014 according to Mane’s requests.
Unlawful interventions at the Enforcement Office and with the head of AKEP, Piro Xhixho, in favor of Mane’s company, Plus Communications, were also documented.
The PLUS Communication affair
SPAK documents the close relationship between Kryemadhi and Xhixho, who constantly reported meetings with Mane. In a communication dated January 31, 2014, Xhixho writes to Kryemadhi:
“Mona, greetings. Zamiri came. Just as you told me, he seeks cooperation. He has received a mandate to resolve the problems. He told me you are not to blame, just do what you can.”
In another message dated February 11, 2014, Xhixho writes:
“Today Zamiri came and told me about the meeting with the big one.”
According to the file, Samir Mane was seeking concessions from AKEP to improve the financial situation of PLUS, while his wife, Eva Mane, was paying for Kryemadhi’s and the children’s luxury trips.
SPAK emphasizes that the influence of Meta and Kryemadhi in favor of Mane and his business partners extended so far that they even compelled rival operators of PLUS to sit at a joint table to discuss ways to save the company.
The file also documents Kryemadhi’s intervention:
“She told me to receive Samir Mane.”
