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| Jaeld Çela in an interview at Lazarat Operation (archive) |
The news was confirmed for Shqiptarja by sources in the Tirana Police. Çela's lawyer, Petrit Ismaili, has confirmed that this decision was already announced by the former Police Chief, who will now continue the battle in the Appeal Court together with the former Minister of Interior, Saimir Tahiri.
Below is the statement received through the lawyer:
I decided to appear before the trial panel at this stage of justice.
In these 2 years, I have not been convinced of a denigration measure against me (which the prosecutors of this case called a security measure).
I was not guided in this action by the instinct of freedom, but by the reason and respect for the work I have done in more than 17 years in the structures of the State Police.
I have been guided by:
- Respect for the numerous police officers, subordinates, colleagues and superiors, with whom I have served only on the basis of law;
- My education and training as a Police Officer and as a man whose rights were being violated;
- Above all, respect and love for my family, to which I can apologize only because I was contemporary with a justice system that is not interested in giving justice to its decisions, but to perform politically, through them.
I did not go to detention for another reason: I would "disappoint" all those guilty that the Criminal Law aims, in addition to punishing them, also to correct them, as the latter would seem insignificant since you can go to jail in vain.
I have been and remain convinced of my innocence because it is based on the truth to which justice must go….
Throughout this period, mud has been poured over my name by all those who have never known me, who have never had the desire to know the truth, and who have always found it easy to point the finger and trample on the next "prey."
Prosecutors wanted me to be a "collaborator" of former Minister Tahiri, while I was a subordinate and collaborator in the service of the law.
I have been accused of being an accomplice of some individuals whom I not only do not know and have never seen, but who have been prosecuted and arrested when I was under the direction of the Vlora District Police.
In the 57 so-called "voluminous" fascists, my name appears nowhere, neither in wiretaps, nor in the conversations of the investigators, nor in any violation of procedures or law; on the contrary, it appears only in the papers I signed to arrest and prosecute many of these persons ...
In this process, without any reasonable doubt, no facts, much less evidence, prosecutors (in this case, the inquisitors) a “proof: they gave ..: how important it is to reform the judiciary, not to stigmatize with the name that has, seek and give justice.
Finally, I would also like to "thank" the prosecutors because all the deprivation of liberty that forced me to go, accompanied by the support of my people, hundreds of honest police officers, friends, and acquaintances, made me realize that there was something more important than that people love you: that they BELIEVE you. The belief that everyone had in my innocence was oxygen and the reason of why I should move forward.
I am proud of all the years I served in the structures of the State Police, where I have given my best in all career stages based on honesty, humanization, and high professionalism in performing my duties in the service of the citizens of my country.