Yesterday the US Embassy publicly expressed its disappointment with the conviction of former Minister of Interior Affairs Saimir Tahiri by stating that his suspended sentence was “discouraging.” This was echoed by UK Ambassador Duncan Norman, who spoke of a “failure.” By contrast, EU Ambassador Luigi Soreca has been much more reserved in his judgment. In response to questions from the press, Soreca stated:
My experience as a former prosecutor pushes me to read a court decision before making any statement. So allow me to have a clear read and then we will make a statement in due course.
This is yet again a disingenuous statement of an ambassador that seems increasingly close to the Rama government, and who takes any opportunity either to ignore or downplay the scandals plaguing the Socialist government.
It should therefore come as no surprise that Soreca’s “excuse” was immediately copied by Tahiri, who gave a press conference today, responding in part to the UK ambassador’s statement:
It’s also discouraging for me to hear that, in my culture one doesn’t speak about a court verdict that hasn’t been published yet.
This has, of course, in no way ever been part of Tahiri’s “culture,” whose former boss takes every single opportunity to speak out before, during, and after court cases that affect his government. The only time he is silent, is when he loses.
Moreover, Soreca’s “experience as a former prosecutor” didn’t hold him back when he was quick to denounce the reduction of a sentence in the case of a murder of 4 police officers earlier this year. Back then, he even called upon the High Judicial Council (KLGj) to investigate the verdict!
So let us wait, with patience, until our “experienced” EU ambassador reads Tahiri’s verdict and has formed a well-informed opinion about this travesty of justice. No doubt, the closer we get to the European Council summit in October, the more prudent he will be.
