Lawyer Ben Brandon, who practices in London, publicly clarified today that together with his British colleague, he represents the mayor of Tirana, Erion VeA
He said that they are the international legal representatives of Veliaj and that they understand that this is a matter of great importance for Albania. According to him, they are in the country to assist Veliaj in his application to the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg.
“We are the international legal representatives of Mr. Veliaj. We understand that this is a matter of great importance for your country. We are here to assist Mr. Veliaj in his application to the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg”, said the British lawyer.
Brandon said that they have spent the last two days in the detention facilities in Durrës working on the preparation of the application and that they will return at the beginning of September.
He emphasized that since the arrest of Veliaj, together with the legal representatives in Albania and the United States of America, they have repeatedly requested to meet their client, but all requests have been repeatedly rejected.
According to him, only after a change in the decision-making of the judges in Tirana, they were given the opportunity to meet Veliaj after 14 months of rejected requests.
“For more than 14 months, we have been denied the right to meet our client. This is unacceptable. It is not about our desire to meet him, but about the right of Mr. Veliaj to be represented by the lawyers chosen by him”, said lawyer Brandon.
Brandon called the denial of access to legal representatives chosen by Veliaj for more than 14 months unacceptable. He said the reasons given for not allowing contact with the chosen defenders remain unclear and confusing.
He added that the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg has made it clear that, when it comes to the deprivation of a person’s freedom, the Albanian authorities must deal with the matter as soon as possible.
According to the lawyer, in addition to the impact that the ban has on Veliaj himself and his family, it also affects the citizens of Tirana who have elected him to govern at the local level.
“We think that his detention is unnecessary and disproportionate. It affects not only Mr. Veliaj and his family, but also the citizens of Tirana who have elected him. The measure must end immediately,” said lawyer Brandon.
