28 January 1994

Doc. 7014

1403-28/1/94-7-E

MOTION FOR A RESOLUTION

on the case of Mr Fatos Nano,

member of the Parliament of Albania

presented by Mr ROMAN and others1


1.       On 30 July 1993, Mr Fatos Nano, member of parliament and chairman of the Socialist Party of Albania was arrested. From that day on, he has been held in the prison of Tirana by the Investigation Service.

2.       The arrest was executed by the Prosecutor of Tirana, who had been nominated to this post 24 hours prior to the arrest. His two predecessors were removed from their posts, as they were not convinced that there were legal grounds penally to prosecute Mr Nano. The arrest was executed without the presence of the attorney.

3.       The arrest was executed by violating Article 22 of the Major Constitutional Provisions which stipulate that "The Deputy of the People's Assembly (the Parliament) enjoys immunity. The Deputy cannot be controlled, detained, arrested or penally prosecuted without the consent of the People's Assembly." The People's Assembly had decided only to lift the immunity.

4.       The Albanian state representatives have accused Mr Nano for appropriation of funds during the period March — June 1991, when he was Prime Minister of the transitionary government, in connection with the delivery of Italian aid for Albania, whereas the Tirana Prosecution Office arrested him under the charges of misuse of power and falsification of official documents.

5.       Article 47 of the Code of Penal Procedure of the Republic of Albania prescribes that arrest, as a measure of security, should occur only when the accused is charged with a penal offence for which the law prescribes the punishment of deprivation of liberty. Articles 106 and 110 of the Penal Code of the Republic of Albania stipulate for the present case re-education through labour as the first kind of punishment.

6.       Mr Nano's complaint about his arrest, and his demand to be investigated under free conditions, were rejected by the Tribunal of Tirana with the reasoning that "the offence with which the accused is charged, and he himself, are a pronounced social danger". In the case of Mr Nano none of these reasons seem to be relevant, because he does not now have the official position to commit the crime with which he is charged and, on the account of his social standing, he can hardly avoid justice.

7.       The Albanian law prescribes that for such charges, the investigation should be completed within two months. The investigation body only formulated the indictment four months after the arrest, but the Tribunal of Tirana considered it inadequate, and referred it back for more complete investigation. Even six months after Mr Nano's arrest, the final indictment has not yet been formulated.

8.       The Council of Europe bears a special responsibility for supporting the rule of law and the independence of the judiciary, in order that human rights and opposition political freedoms may be guaranteed.

9.       Consequently, the Assembly should undertake, during the consideration of Albania's request for accession to the Council of Europe:

      i.       a review of Mr Nano's case;

      ii.       an examination of the deputy's arrest and of the investigation procedures in Albania which have operated in the Nano case;

      iii.       as well as the Nano case, an examination of other cases of abuse of human rights and freedoms.

Signed:       Roman, Tummers, Iwinski, Solé Tura, Cem, Guirado, Moreno, Cucó, Stoffelen, Masseret, Bernardini, Pécriaux, Bolinaga, Ferrarini, Ferrari, Covi, De Carolis, Paire, Visibelli, Colombo, Agnelli, Rodrigues, Bokov, Guenov, Hadjidemetriou, Tabajdi.


1 1 1. This text only represents the views of the individual members who have signed it. It does not reflect a position adopted by the Parliamentary Assembly.