Albania court to call PM Edi Rama as witness in Berisha graft trial

Albania’s Special Court Against Corruption and Organised Crime will call Prime Minister Edi Rama as a witness in the corruption trial of his predecessor, Sali Berisha, after a request from the opposition leader, a court spokeswoman said Wednesday.

Berisha, 81, has been on trial since July on a charge of “passive corruption of a high official.” The alleged wrongdoing, which involves his son-in-law, is linked to the privatisation of public land in Tirana and dates back to 2008, during Berisha’s term as prime minister.

The longtime leader of the main opposition right‑wing Democratic Party, who has organised anti‑government protests for weeks, has repeatedly rejected the accusations as “purely political” and accused Rama of being behind them. Rama, who was mayor of Tirana when the alleged wrongdoing occurred, will be called as a witness at Berisha’s request.

It is not known when he might be heard, but the next hearing in the case is scheduled for April 30. Berisha was Albania’s first democratically elected president after the fall of communism in the early 1990s and served a five‑year term as head of state. He later served as prime minister from 2005 to 2013.

In 2021 he was banned from entering the United States, and later Britain, over alleged involvement in organised crime and corruption — accusations he rejected. Rama’s government has also been shaken by corruption cases. Deputy Prime Minister Belinda Balluku, accused of corruption in a public procurement case, was dismissed earlier this year.

The fight against corruption is among key criteria for the country’s bid to join the European Union.