US Ambassador Yuri Kim has issued a warning to “opponents” of justice reform in Albania, writing that “Your actions are not as hidden as you think.”
On Friday, April 16, Kim published a tweet where she argued that as justice reforms begins to produce results, efforts to undermine its credibility have increased.
1/2 As justice reform is beginning to produce more & more results, opponents are increasing efforts to undermine key elements, including vetting. Those engaging in threats, intimidation, slander, corrupt inducements should stop. Your actions are not as hidden as you think.
— Ambassador Yuri Kim (@USAmbAlbania) April 15, 2022
“The fight against corruption is a core national security interest of the United States,” Kim wrote in a second post on Twitter.
Last week, representatives from the European Union and the US Embassy in Tirana issued statements in support of judicial vetting, condemning what they considered “an orchestrated disinformation campaign against the vetting process.”
The statements came as the Special Appeals Chamber (KPA) reviews the confirmation of Tirana Prosecutor Elizabeta Imeraj to her post by the Independent Qualification Commission (KPK) in June 2021.
KPK’s decision to confirm Imeraj was appealed by the International Monitoring Operation (IMO), with the support of the United States which considered her case a test to justice reform in Albania.
As Imeraj defended herself before the KPA, Albanian media have cast doubts on IMO observer Theo Jacobs and the evidence he had used to recommend that Imeraj’s confirmation be appealed.
The US and EU have been the staunchest supporters of Albania’s justice reform, a process that began in 2016 to vet all judges and prosecutors in the country.
