A judge in Tirana has dismissed the case of Nashi Shehapi, the director of Kindergarten No.1 who was accused of beating a three-year-old boy and locking him in a cupboard under the stairs.
In August last year, the child in question returned home from kindergarten and his mother discovered bruises on his arm. The child implicated Shehapi as the assailant and claimed she had also locked him in the “mouse hole” on several occasions. Exit visited the Kindergarten and found the mouse hole to be a small cupboard containing cleaning products located in the foyer of the premises.
The child was subsequently interviewed at length by psychologists and repeatedly implicated Shehapi as the assailant, according to the child’s father who was present. Strangely, this did not make it into the psychologist’s final report and they summarized the entire interview in just a few lines.
The prosecutor in charge of the case, Eriselda Bala initially refused to meet the parents of the child to give them an update on the case. It was only when her colleagues reminded her of her obligation that she agreed to meet them. It took Bala months to initiate the investigation. In fact, it was only after Exit published information on the allegations that the case progressed. She claimed that there was no evidence to suggest that Shehapi had abused the child.
The father was then approached by the husband of one of Shehapi’s colleagues and asked to drop the case. He refused.
Shehapi, a vote collector for the Socialist Party, had allegedly told members of staff at Kindergarten No.1 that the case would never make it to court. They also claimed she had told them that she was being protected by MP Klotilda Ferhati and Ms Zhaneta Beqiri, director of the Center for Economic Development and Education of Children (QEZHEF). They both denied such claims and Beqiri said she had no relationship with Shehapi but they were then pictured on the campaign trail together, prior to the 30 June local elections.
In a recording obtained by Exit, staff from the kindergarten can be heard discussing the case, saying they know that Shehapi is guilty and that they felt threatened with unemployment if they spoke out against her. It was also claimed that parents had been threatened that their children would be removed from the kindergarten if they did not support Shehapi.
Members of staff who spoke on the recording also said they had been abused by Shehapi in the past and they could not do anything because she has the upper hand. They added they are scared to denounce Shehapi not only because they would lose their jobs, but because they are scared of political fallout directed at them.
One member of staff can be heard saying that Shehapi “has given money” to the prosecution. Another source at the Kindergarten told Exit that Shehapi had hired “fixer” Marin Hoxhaj to ensure that the case was never opened in court. This possibly reflects Shehapi’s alleged comments that the case would never reach court, it may also explain why she did not appear in court with a lawyer in any of the preliminary hearings.
Bala had previously asked the court to dismiss the allegations against Shehapi, saying there was no evidence. The court found that there were gaping holes in her investigation and ordered her to conduct a more thorough job. The judge sent her to do more investigations and she again called for it to be dismissed.
The prosecutor had previously presented a number of references in support of Nashi, stating she did not assault the boy. The individuals include a government employee, a parent whose child does not attend the Kindergarten, and a night guard who only works in the evening. A source told Exit that Marin Hoxhaj, the ‘fixer’ Shehapi allegedly hired to stop the case ever making it to open court, sits on the parental committee at the same kindergarten. Prosecutor Bala’s her father is the Prefect of Fier appointed by the government.
The child, who has now turned five years old still states that Nashi assaulted him and he exhibits signs of trauma when her name is mentioned.
Lawyer for the parents, Ivi Rrokaj, previously said that he had “never seen a prosecutor try to protect an accused as much as in this case”.
The parents are lodging an appeal.
