Albania’s Constitutional Court has upheld the rejection of Saimir Çela, one of those convicted for the robbery of €4.6 million at Rinas airport. At the center of his claim was the idea that he had been unfairly penalized over a single sentence, but the published ruling shows that the court viewed this episode as only one part of the case file, not as the only piece of evidence.
The complaint did not pass to a plenary session
According to the published ruling, the Constitutional Court rejected the complaint without sending the case to a plenary session. Çela had claimed that he was convicted because of the expression “what bad luck, I knew it,” recorded during an ambient surveillance intercept in pretrial detention on the day he was arrested.
In its reasoning, the court finds that the conversation between Saimir Çela and another detainee, Renaldo Sulaj, showed that they were aware of the reason for their arrest. This is the court’s reading of that communication, while the defense had tried to present the weight of that phrase in the proceedings differently.
Not just one sentence, but a file with several pieces of evidence
The ruling reminds Çela that the file does not contain only the ambient intercept. According to the court, the case also included 508 phone calls made in that period with two accomplices in the 2019 robbery.
The reasoning also mentions the testimony of cooperating witness Alkond Bengasi, who said the plan began during frequent meetings, with the study of the movements of cash shipments and concrete preparations for entering the airport.
This account also includes the modification of vehicles on which the inscription “tax investigation” was placed, the securing of tools to open emergency doors, and the arming of the robbery group, which according to the case file was led by Admir Murati, who was killed during the pursuit.
The tally of sentences and the names that turned to the Constitutional Court
For the high-profile robbery at Rinas, the courts have handed down a total of 122 years in prison. In addition to Saimir Çela, brothers Klement and Eldi Çala have also turned to the Constitutional Court.
In a separate proceeding, Talo Çela was also sentenced to 18 years in prison. This shows that the judicial saga of one of the most notorious criminal events of recent years continues to produce legal battles at several levels of the justice system.
Suspicions that go beyond the robbery
Despite the sentences handed down, authorities continue to suspect that the €4.6 million robbery at Rinas may also have led to other criminal episodes, including killings.
So far, these remain authorities’ suspicions and not a closed chapter with finalized responsibility in every respect. This is precisely what keeps the case open in the public interest, beyond the Constitutional Court’s latest ruling.
The Constitutional Court’s latest decision further narrows Saimir Çela’s legal room in this case.
In essence, the court has signaled that the conviction was not based on a single sentence, but on a chain of evidence that, according to the judicial version, links him to the Rinas robbery.