Boycott proves costly for lawyers as Albania’s anti-corruption court fines 15 of them

Albania’s Special Court against Corruption and Organized Crime (GJKKO) fined 15 defense lawyers on the 20th day of a boycott by attorneys who refuse to appear at hearings held in the special court, in protest against the court’s regulations.

The lawyers were each fined 5,000 lekë, while Maks Haxhia reminded the court that the abandonment of trials at the GJKKO is happening in the name of defending the profession, since the court has violated the law with the restrictions in its September 1 regulations, which must therefore be reviewed. In this climate, the chamber has also called two more meetings.

“But this regulation harms not only the lawyers’ profession. It harms journalists’ too. I have been a journalist since before this building existed, and later the court for serious crimes was built with EU funds. With the start of the GJKKO’s operation, in an unprecedented way the media is banned, journalists are required to be accredited, the use of AI is prohibited, and other restrictive rules,” said Maks Haxhia.

While proceedings and justice are open, the GJKKO sent signals of closure, first by counting the minutes of every request, as TCH filled out forms for camera coverage of every trial, which, under the in-force instruction of the High Judicial Council (KLGJ), it sent 24 hours before the hearing.

An email from you regarding requests to register film footage of court sessions dated 09.06.2025 was sent yesterday at 09:39, while the court sessions for the criminal cases with defendants 1) Hajdar Lala, et al., and 2) Behar Brajoviq, et al., were scheduled for today, 09.06.2025, at 08:30 and 09:00 respectively.

Counting 39 minutes of delay meant refusal; in other cases the camera and the journalist were refused on the grounds that permission had to be obtained from the defendants. But even when the accused in the Divjakë case accepted the camera, the court refused.

In implementation of the KLGJ instruction, which is binding on every court in the country, Top Channel again filled out the forms for this week’s proceedings. This time the refusal was by invoking the regulation, which has a series of problems — most seriously, it confuses media freedom and legally open trials with the security of a court. The journalists’ association has addressed the Constitutional Court, while the High Inspectorate of Justice has not yet started verifications.

Source: Top Channel