The Court of Tirana has overturned the decision of the prosecution to seize the registers of students from the Turgut Ozal schools in Albania.
The records were seized during a raid on the campus last year. Following the raid whereby police arrived on site, searched the premises, and seized documentation without a court order, the school filed criminal charges against the authorities. Teachers on-site at the time claimed police photographed and filmed students.
The Prosecution claimed the registers were seized to prove the number of students in attendance was the same as the number declared. This is due to allegations of money laundering.
A representative of the school previously stated that the school had been subject to a tax audit by the authorities and no irregularities were found. Then, they passed an external audit with Deloitte that also found no irregularities. The company disputes any allegations of financial misconduct and has repeatedly stated that everything is above board.
Today, the court in Tirana found that the seizure of the registers was unnecessary and ordered they be returned to the school.
Following the raid in November, the school’s lawyer told the media that police entered with force and did not provide any legal justification or documentation for doing so
“There have been some checks that we deem illegal and we have addressed them with a criminal report. The police entered by force raided the premise, they forcibly took tax invoices, the sales ledger, student registers, and contracts with parents and students….checks cannot be done without respecting the criminal procedural code.”
They stated that the schools’ activity has been continuously audited since 2001 by certified companies and government authorities, including a recent audit by the General Directorate of Taxation “which has not found any infringement or violations”.
“Despite these audits and controls, all the educational institutions of the company, starting from the kindergarten to the University “Epoka”, have been put under strange and meaningless pressure by people with unclear agendas and vague messages, which through certain structures of the state police have exercised verbal violence, arbitrary actions, and repression while the education process continues under the conditions of COVID-19,” it states.
Staff at the school that spoke to Exit in confidence described how following the “extended and intensive” tax audit, one day, large numbers of police turned up at all the schools’ campuses simultaneously.
They detailed how police demanded to search the premises but refused to say why or to provide any official documentation. This action took place in front of students who were in attendance at the time. It’s reported that the police were also filming the ‘raid’ including the faces of students without permission. Staff described the ordeal as “terrifying”.
In Albania, the Turkish government has applied pressure to close Turkish-run or affiliated schools and forcibly deport alleged Gulenists. This has resulted in what the United Nations referred to as “extraterritorial abductions and forced disappearance of Turkish citizens” which Albania is complicit in.
The Turkish government and President Erdogan have accused Fethullah Gulen and his followers of masterminding the 2006 failed coup attempt in 2016. Following this, he arrested and imprisoned thousands of teachers, journalists, activists, and civil servants who he accused of being involved.
