Yesterday, Prosecutor Eriselda Bala asked for the case against Nashi Shehapi to be dismissed due to lack of evidence.
Nashi Shehapi is accused of beating a three year old boy and locking him in the “mouse cave”- a small cupboard under the stairs in Kindergarten No.1.
Judge Ahmet Metaliaj presided over the hearing and requested that the boy (now four years old) be brought to court but the father refused stating that he is too young to attend. The father of the child then requested that the file of the case be made available to him and his lawyer and that a hearing be scheduled for a few weeks time.
A report was filed by the parents of the child in August 2018. The child who was three years old at the time had returned from Kindergarten in a state of trauma and had refused to remove his clothing for a shower. When his mother insisted, she found large red bruises on his upper arm but the boy refused to say who had inflicted them upon him.
She took him to the police station that day to file a report and both parents and the boy returned the following day for an interview with two psychologists. The interview went on for over two hours, during which time and with both parents as witnesses, the child implicated Nashi Shehapi, the director of the kindergarten. At one point, the child mentioned it was a boy in his class, but he then reiterated repeatedly that it was in fact Shehapi. Further investigations by this portal showed that in fact that boy was not even present in the school that day and therefore it was clear that the child had been confused. During the interview the child even exclaimed that Shehapi was a bad person and should go to prison- with his father having served as a policeman, this was terminology and a concept that he was very familiar with.
In addition to this, the child said that Shehapi locked him and others in a small cupboard under the stairs when they were naughty. Prosecutor Bala said she had been unable to find the “mouse cave” during her investigations, yet a journalist from this paper found it within 30 seconds of entering the premises and even managed to photograph it.
The medical report confirmed that the injuries were done with such strength that it could have only been done by an adult.
When Nashi Shehapi discovered she was being named in the case, she responded by threatening employees at Kindergarten No.1 and boasting that she had political protection due to her work during electoral times for the Socialist Party. She stated repeatedly to parents and staff that she wouldn’t be punished and that anyone speaking out against her would suffer consequences. She then proceeded to form a petition and get it signed by those that proclaimed her innocence- the only problem being that the signatories were either government employees, didn’t have children at the kindergarten, or were employed by the kindergarden in the position of night guard.
Multiple sources from the school came forward and spoke about instances of Nashi verbally abusing staff, children, and even parents, and we were made aware that she had her classes taken away from her after the scandal broke, despite remaining in employment. It also came to light that she had allegedly swapped her broken washing machine at home, for the new one that had been purchased for use in the kindergarten.
A journalist from Exit was then contacted by one of Shehapi’s daughters, Kira who threatened her and said she would regret the words she had written.
Unfortunately, the file landed on the desk of Prosecutor Eriselda Bala who consistently failed to follow due process and conduct any kind of serious investigation into the matter. She repeatedly tried to stop the father from having any contact with her to ask questions about the case and she refused to let him see the files until the judge ordered it so. In addition to this Zhaneta Beqiri the Director of the Center for Economic Development and Education of Children, told the father that she was unable to take any action against Shehapi as it was not under her remit- she later told the prosecutor that the father had refused to make a complaint to her- a clear lie. In addition to this it came to light that Ms Beqiri may or may not have met with Shehapi as well as been responsible for leaking a letter from the mother of the child, to the press which resulted in the three year olds’ name and photo being published in the media.
The whole case has been mired in failures to adhere to proper process, unethical behavior, inconsistencies on behalf of the authorities, and boasts from the accused that she would walk away with no charge.
The case will continue on the 22nd of March.
