Belinda Balluku, the former deputy prime minister who faces five criminal charges for
15 suspected cases, was presented to SPAK accompanied by lawyer Ardian Kalia,
to communicate the closure of the investigations. So Balluku escaped prison today.
The file is expected to go to the Special Court, while the public waits to see if justice will go to the end or will be satisfied with procedures, documents and conferences.
Because in Albania, when it comes to ordinary citizens, justice often seems quick in punishment, but when important names of power appear on the scene, the wait turns into a test of patience.
Allegations of violations of equality in tenders, corruption and issues related to wealth are too serious to be treated as another episode in the endless series of Albanian politics. But the question weighing on the institutions is not only how many accusations have been made, but whether they will be answered through a fair, independent process and without double standards. Citizens do not need the spectacle of files passing from one institution to another; they need to see that the law knows no titles, positions, friendships or power. Justice is not measured by the number of pages of a file, but by the courage to see it through to the end.
And here comes the question that never goes away, what about prison for Belinda Balluku, or will this issue become another endless legal marathon? No one can convict a person without a court decision, but no one can also ask the public to applaud just because the investigations are closing. SPAK must prove the charges, the court must decide on the evidence and justice must show that it is equal for everyone. Because if the law is strong only for the weak and cautious to infinity for the powerful, then the problem is not only in a file, but in the trust of an entire society. In the end, citizens are not looking for a show with handcuffs, but justice without immunity from responsibility.
