Just hours after being transferred from the Durrës pre-trial detention center to Fier Prison, Erion Veliaj has made serious allegations about the conditions of his detention and the way the transfer was carried out. In a letter made public by lawyer Plarent Ndreca, the mayor of Tirana claims he has been placed in isolation and is being held in the same corridor as people sentenced to life imprisonment.
Allegations of isolation and lack of basic conditions
In the letter written from his cell in Fier, Veliaj lists a series of claims about his treatment in the prison institution. According to the version made public by the defense, he has been placed in isolation for 10 days and is facing a lack of water, lack of electricity, and denial of food.
In the same letter, he also claims that he has not been allowed any phone call with family members or his lawyer, while raising questions about the reasons for the transfer and the isolation.
The most serious claim: corridor with life prisoners
The strongest part of the letter concerns security inside the prison. Veliaj writes that he is in the same corridor as three people sentenced to life imprisonment, whom he describes as serial killers.
This is a claim made by him in the letter and distributed publicly by his lawyer. At this stage, there has been no public clarification from the institutions responsible for the detention regime and the reason for his placement in that environment.
Lawyer speaks of health problems and unlawful transfer
According to lawyer Plarent Ndreca, Veliaj has for more than three weeks been complaining of problems with his leg and has requested an examination by a medical institution, but that request, according to him, has not been accepted.
Ndreca has also stated that his client has not eaten, as he has doubts about the way the transfer was carried out. The lawyer further described Veliaj’s transfer from Durrës to Fier as unlawful.
Prison visit and background to the transfer
In the evening hours, Veliaj was visited at Fier Prison by the People’s Advocate, Endrit Shabani, as well as by his lawyer. The visit comes at a time when allegations of rights violations during his stay in prison have increased.
Veliaj had been held in Durrës prison since February 2025, when he was arrested. His transfer to Fier came one day after he commented from his cell on the outcome of the student movement in Serbia, which he presented as the downfall of what he called a populist model in Belgrade.
The case raises serious questions about how transfers are administered in the penitentiary system, especially when a full public explanation from the authorities is lacking.
In the face of allegations of isolation, harsh conditions, and restricted communication, the burden of clarification remains on the responsible institutions.