During a meeting with the residents of Gërdec, Spiropali emphasized that, “here in Gerdec words are not enough. You know better than anyone else that those who want to come to power have just changed skin, but are still the same people. It is the previous government that turned this wonderful village and nearby villages into graves.”

“Let’s do justice once and for all so that Albania can be a country of the rule of law, a country of equality, a country of equal opportunities, not of the 5 people who are in Tirana and their 3 families,” Spiropali stressed.

“Let us remember that one of the culminations of Ardian Dvorani’s battle in the fight against corruption, is his resistance, in January 2012, to surrender to the pressure of Sali Berisha and Ilir Meta, to vote for Meta’s innocence, for which the prosecution sought a sentence of two years in prison for corruption charges,” Minister of State for Relations with the Parliament, Elisa Spiropali said. //a.i/

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken ranked the former head of the Judicial Appointments Council (JAC), judge Dvorani among 12 Anti-Corruption Champions. //a.i/

“The United States is rebuilding our partnerships, founded on shared principles like the rule of law. In that spirit, I’m proud to launch the U.S. Department of State’s International Anticorruption Champions Award and recognize 12 individuals committed to transparency and accountability,” Secretary of State Anthony Blinken said.

Judge and Member of the Justice Appointments Council Ardian Dvorani from Albania is one of these Champions.

“Around the world, corruption threatens security and stability, hinders economic growth, undermines democracy and human rights, destroys trust in public institutions, facilitates transnational crime, and siphons away public and private resources.

The Biden Administration recognizes that we will only be successful in combating these issues by working in concert with committed partners, including courageous individuals who champion anticorruption efforts and countries working to fulfill their commitments to international anticorruption standards.

For that reason, I am announcing a new International Anticorruption Champions Award, recognizing individuals who have worked tirelessly, often in the face of adversity, to defend transparency, combat corruption, and ensure accountability in their own countries.

As President Biden has emphasized, our commitment to truth, transparency, and accountability is a mission that we must live at home and exemplify abroad. I commend the dedication of these 12 brave individuals to these same ideals.

The honorees are: Ardian Dvorani of Albania, Diana Salazar of Ecuador, Sophia Pretrick of the Federated States of Micronesia, Juan Francisco Sandoval Alfaro of Guatemala, Ibrahima Kalil Gueye of Guinea, Anjali Bhardwaj of India, Dhuha A. Mohammed of Iraq, Bolot Temirov of the Kyrgyz Republic, Mustafa Abdullah Sanalla of Libya, Victor Sotto of The Philippines, Francis Ben Kaifala of Sierra Leone, and Ruslan Ryaboshapka of Ukraine.

They inspire us and so many of their counterparts pursuing these ideals around the world. The United States enforces one of the most robust anticorruption frameworks in the world.

We were the first to criminalize foreign bribery and, in partnership with foreign counterparts, have recovered and returned more than $1 billion in stolen public assets in the past two years alone.

We use a range of tools to promote accountability for corrupt individuals, combat impunity globally, and engage in multilateral fora to fight corruption and strengthen citizen engagement.

We will defeat corruption by implementing sound reforms consistent with international anticorruption commitments; developing transparent, accountable institutions; and empowering citizens, journalists, and civil society organizations to help defeat this global threat to security and democracy,” Blinken said. //a.i/