TIRANA, April 28 /ATA/ – Democratic Party (DP) leader Sali Berisha on Tuesday condemned what he described as the “inhumane treatment” of the opposition Freedom Party chairman Ilir Meta after images of him appearing in court circulated.
Berisha said his main opposition party rejects Meta’s presentation in court inside a glass enclosure, calling it unjustified and inappropriate for a senior political figure. He also said there was no substantiated evidence for the corruption and money laundering charges against him.
Meta, a former president, parliament speaker and prime minister, and current leader of the second-largest opposition party, the Freedom Party, is a “political prisoner,” Berisha said.
He said Meta had been held in pre-trial detention for 17 months and was subjected to psychological pressure and violations of constitutional rights, including what he described as intimidation and abuse.
“DP demands the immediate release of Ilir Meta,” Berisha said, also calling on the Council of Europe’s Committee for the Prevention of Torture to investigate the case.
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