Two days after he welcomed Aleksandar Vučić’s defeat in Serbia and called for similar soul-searching in Albania, Erion Veliaj was abruptly transferred by the government to a high-security prison.
In a post on his social media channels, Veliaj was careful not to mention Prime Minister Edi Rama and spoke in general terms, but the statement was widely seen as a direct swipe at Rama, who is the focus of public anger and of the ongoing demands that he step down.
Veliaj and his legal team likewise see the transfer as punishment for his political stance.
Veliaj described the move from the Durrës pretrial detention center to the Fier prison as a “forced transfer, without legal grounds” and a “police abduction who gravely violates” his rights.
Veliaj’s lawyer, Plarent Ndreca, reinforced those suggestions of “politically ordered punishment” on Thursday morning, saying the transfer was a “disturbing reaction” by the government to the Tirana mayor’s public statements.
Veliaj’s post came as Tirana, much like Serbia over the past two years, has seen months of mass protests by students and other angry citizens demanding Rama’s resignation.
The fall of Vučić’s regime is seen as the end of an autocratic era in Serbia. Rama’s critics and the Albanian opposition, from left to right, see it as a sign of what could lie ahead for Albania.
Rama has governed Albania for more than 13 years, and a growing number of people see his leadership as autocratic, much like what happened in Serbia.
Neither Veliaj nor his lawyer names Rama directly. They blame the prison administration and the Justice Ministry as institutions, but their claims of political retaliation clearly point to the prime minister.
Justice Minister Toni Gogu once worked alongside Veliaj in the Tirana city administration and is seen as a political protégé of his in the Socialist Party.
The transfer has also stirred debate inside the Socialist Party, in a closed-door meeting of its parliamentary group ahead of Thursday’s session.
Former Interior Minister Bledi Çuçi demanded answers from the justice minister, and even his resignation, if the move from Durrës to Fier was made without an official justification.
Veliaj, still the sitting mayor of Tirana, was arrested on Feb. 10, 2025, on charges that include corruption, money laundering and concealment of assets.
Before his arrest by the Special Anti-Corruption Prosecution, Veliaj was one of the Socialist Party’s most important figures and a longtime close associate of Rama.
Rama has taken different positions on Veliaj since the arrest. He initially defended him, but later said Veliaj must fight his legal battle without the Socialist Party’s political backing.
The prime minister removed Veliaj as mayor and called for early elections in Tirana, but Veliaj appealed his dismissal and the Constitutional Court ruled in his favor.
He remained mayor from behind bars, and the Tirana election was canceled.
Since then, Veliaj has run the city from the Durrës detention center, where he has been held in isolation since his arrest.
The Durrës facility mainly holds people who have not yet received a final verdict, and it often houses former public officials. Security is looser there, conditions are better and detainees can move more freely inside.
The Fier prison holds both pretrial detainees and convicted inmates. Many high-risk prisoners serve their sentences there, mostly people convicted of organized crime.
Moving an inmate from Durrës to Fier generally signals a step up in security, or an assessment that the person poses a greater risk.
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