Justice system in Albania has hit bottom rock and shames me – says US Prosecutor

Tirana, Sept 18 (Tirana Echo) – US sent Albanian-American Prosecutor Gjon Juncaj has said there’s no honor in Albania’s low level justice system which has caused hundreds of Albanians citizens to leave their country in recent years.

Juncaj who works for OPDAT, the US legal affairs mission designed to help Albania in its justice and anti-corruption affairs, said he felt ashamed from the lack of honesty in Albania’s justice.

His stern comments come at a time when Albania has approved the start of the implementation of an historic US backed justice reform which will totally overhaul its judges and prosecutors, known for the very high levels of corruption in the Balkans.

“My mother was obsesed by justice. She would always say that if you do something wrong, you will eventually run into problems. I have never seen so many innocent people and victims who are left unprotected from the justice system, like I have seen here in Albania”, said Juncaj to an audience of the Ted Ex conference in Tirana.

The United States has been invested alongside the European Union in pushing Albania to reform its highly corrupt justice system.

The reform approved in Parliament last year, is in its early implementation phases and is seen as crucial for Albania’s progress in its EU membership bid.

The EU and US hope hundreds of corrupt officials will get arrested and prosecuted over the next few months, despite reluctance from Albania’s justice officials and other government officials and politicians to press ahead with the necessary reforms.

EU member states have conditioned Albania’s accession talks on its willingness to fight corruption and organised crime, which has caused hundreds of thousands of Albanians to abandon their country and seek asylum in EU countries.