Erion Veliaj’s lawyer, Plarent Ndreca, confirmed to the media an ultimatum with mafia notes for Veliaj in the detention cells in Fier directly from Prime Minister Edi Rama, through the Minister of Justice, Toni Gogu. Ndreca claimed that the mayor of Tirana has been threatened to hand over his mandate immediately, to delegate his powers to the people who will be appointed by Rama and to give up his lawyer. On the contrary, he was threatened with transfer to another prison and with new investigations by SPAK.
The denunciation was first reported by Hashtag.al, according to which, on the evening of Friday, October 30, the Minister of Justice Toni Gogu urgently arrived at the Fier prison, where Erion Veliaj is in custody. He entered the prison without registering to deliver a message on behalf of Edi Rama:
“I am here on behalf of KM. I want to convey to you textually what KM ordered me:
–This is the last time I will address you as your political father, from now on I will only address you as prime minister.
– Submit the mandate urgently.
– Delegate the power to the names that I will say.
– Give up the lawyer Plarent Ndreca.
– Otherwise, I will transfer to prison 302 and I will direct SPAK to start investigations for undermining the constitutional order and I will rot in prison“, it is stated in the alleged mafia message that Toni Gogu conveyed to Veliaj.
Veliaj responded immediately and told the Minister of Justice that “and if I do 100 years in prison, I will not face my children”.
The Minister of Justice Toni Gogu accepted the meeting with Veliaj in the prison of Fier, but has categorically denied the claims published regarding the content of the conversation between them. In a public reaction, Gogu says that the visit took place within the framework of his duty as a minister, to familiarize himself with the conditions of Veliaj’s treatment and to listen to the concerns raised publicly by his lawyer, but he expresses surprise at what has been attributed to him after the meeting.
However, the fact that Veliaj, through his lawyer, has claimed Rama’s mafia message, regardless of whether Toni Gogu has forwarded such a message or not, the cold and masked Rama-Veliaj war has already exploded and turned into a frontal battle. The most lost from this war will undoubtedly be the Socialist Party, which may risk losing the Municipality of Tirana next year, while the most likely winner will be Sali Berisha, who has always benefited from the internal wars in the SP, especially in 2005 and 2009.
If the mafia message is difficult to confirm, there is no doubt that Veliaj’s transfer from Durrës detention to Fier prison could not be done without Rama’s order. Meanwhile, if Veliaj’s SPAK threat is true, this would confirm the suspicion that Edi Rama is behind the criminal attack on Veliaj, who may have seen him as a political rival and decided to destroy him politically, imprisoning and destroying him emotionally.
Rama’s first attempts to take control of the Municipality of Tirana started a few weeks after the arrest of Veliaj and the launch of a smear campaign against him. In March of last year, Veliaj signed the appointment of Sara Goxhaj from the Durrës cell, as vice-president, replacing Anuela Ristan, but withdrew before even passing 24 hours. Veliaj tried to keep the relationship with Rama in the public eye, while Rama also sent messages from time to time as if Veliaj was being held in prison unjustly.
In September 2025, Rama ordered the Municipal Council to dismiss Veliaj from office, while at the same time he announced Ogerta Manastirliu as a candidate for the by-elections. Rama’s plans were stopped by a decision of the Constitutional Court that reinstated Veliaj, while the mayor appeared in court in handcuffs. The municipality of Tirana remained under the powers of the arrested mayor, who signed the orders from the detention cell in Durrës.
The broken relationship between the two took on another dimension on October 26, when Veliaj hailed the victory of the Student List over Aleksandar Vucic in Serbia. At a time when Albania was involved in protests against the Rama government, he wrote: “Student movements and protests are not ‘the end of the world’, but the end of ‘a world'”. He further called on policy makers to understand the needs and expectations of the younger generation.
Just two days later, on October 28, Veliaj was suddenly transferred from Durrës detention to Fier. The Directorate of Prisons justified the move with security measures, but classified the transfer order as a “state secret”, refusing to publish it. Veliaj opposed the decision as “a police kidnapping” and asked for the documentation that would enable him to appeal.
On October 30, Veliaj decided to take revenge, he dismissed two other vice-mayors of the Municipality of Tirana, Vasilika Vjero and Ilir Mëngra, appointing Etleva Bisha. That same evening, according to the denunciation confirmed by lawyer Plarent Ndreca, Minister Toni Gogu went to Fier prison to convey Rama’s alleged ultimatum for handing over the mandate and delegation of powers.
The chronology shows that Veliaj has decided not to leave power without costing his former friend Edi Rama, exposing him openly as a ruler who acts with mafia methods under the guise of a modern politician. The relationship between the two is already an open war within the species, or as a well-known expression says; the fiercest enemies are often former friends.
