Rama: Did you know that the mayor of Tirana is not a defendant? The Prime Minister clarifies the difference between "defendant" and "suspect"
2025-02-13 09:08:11
TiranaPost
Prime Minister Edi Rama spoke today on "Sy m'sy" regarding the arrest of Tirana Mayor Erion Veliaj, clarifying that Veliaj is a suspect and not a defendant. Rama spoke once again about the measure of arrest with imprisonment, which he considers harsh and unjust, pointing out the difference between "suspect" and "defendant".
"Are you sure we all know the difference between a suspect and a defendant?"
"The suspect is someone for whom even the prosecution itself knows that there is no evidence to request his imprisonment. The defendant is someone for whom the prosecutor requests imprisonment, because there is evidence and the trial should begin. Did you know that the mayor of Tirana is not a defendant? So even the prosecutor himself does not request the trial to begin because there is no evidence, but suspicions based on insufficient evidence, this is shown by Veliaj's status today," Rama said.
