The former director of Albanian national broadcaster, RTSH Thoma Gëllçi was found guilty on Thursday of abuse of office and sentenced to two years in prison, reduced to one year and four months.
Gëllçi was arrested in October 2021 along with three members of the Bid Evaluation Committee for their involvement in a 2019 tender for the purchase of TV equipment. The tender was worth 86 million lek tender (roughly €708,000).
The other individuals, Julian Tapia, Ervin Muraj, and Alban Malaveci, were sentenced to one year in prison each.
The defendant plead not guilty and was defended by lawyer Dorian Matlija who shortly after the result was announced, said they would appeal.
“Our position is that Thoma Gëllçi is innocent,” he said, adding that the only accusation relates to an addendum to the contract which he says was related to postponing the payment deadline because the Ministry of Finance delayed the disbursement of funds.
“Thoma Gëllçi was convicted precisely because he dared to protect public finances,” said Matlija, adding that the addition was made to avoid penalties for the institution.
Gëllçi was head of RTSH from 2016 until May 2021. Prior to his stint at RTSH, he served as press secretary for President Ilir Meta when he was prime minister, and Prime Minister Fatos Nano.
Now he and the other officials are barred from holding public office for five years.
