Speaking during a parliamentary debate over the investigation into former SHISH chief Vlora Hyseni, Ismaili said the intelligence service had, from the 1990s onwards, come to represent the decline of the state through a series of events, “except today”.

“Albanians cannot forget the SHIK of that era, which operated as an unchecked centre of power under Sali Berisha, persecuting, monitoring, abusing and killing people as a political police force. It was almost a militarised institution that was accountable to no one,” Ismaili said.

“How could Albanians forget SHIK at that time, when a prime minister ordered the State Police not to enforce an arrest warrant issued by prosecutors against a former SHIK official, whom Berisha later rewarded by appointing him director-general of the Tax Administration?” she added.

She said the role of SHIK under its then-director Bashkim Gazidede in the 1997 operation to suppress popular unrest “cannot be forgotten”.

Ismaili also referred to the 2012 conviction of former senior SHIK official Ilir Kumbaro, who was sentenced to 15 years in prison over the torture that led to the death of Remzi Hoxha.

She added that Albanians should not forget that in 2009, NATO temporarily restricted the Albanian government’s access to its security networks and highly classified documents, particularly those related to intelligence and nuclear energy.

She also accused DP leader Sali Berisha of helping the former SHIK chief flee Albania in June 1997, after which he was reportedly sheltered mainly in Turkey and Syria.

“I am very curious to know how Serbian-Bosnian businessman Damir Fazlliç was invited to attend a meeting of the National Security Council at your request, when you were prime minister, Sali Berisha,” she said.

“Meanwhile, in Vlora, you used SHIK to arm your supporters against the protests. SHIK had previously burned newspaper offices, abducted and abused journalists, carried out killings and made arrests without due process, acting on orders,” she added.

Ismaili defended the government’s approach to judicial reform, accusing the Democratic Party of undermining the justice system. She said public office must come with accountability and that no one should have absolute power or be above the law.

Ismaili said the justice system should apply equally to ruling and opposition figures, stressing that no one, including SHISH, was immune from investigation. She said the decision to dismiss the SHISH chief demonstrated the government’s commitment to judicial independence and impartiality.

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