Correctional Tribunal of Paris has accepted the defamation lawsuit of former Albanian President Sali Berisha against US Secretary of State Antony Blinken

Correctional Tribunal of Paris has accepted the defamation lawsuit of former Albanian President Sali Berisha against US Secretary of State Antony Blinken

Former Albanian President Sali Berisha announced on Tuesday that the Correctional Tribunal of Paris has accepted his defamation lawsuit against US Secretary of State Antony Blinken.

In a statement on May 19, announcing the sanctions, Mr. Blinken alleged that Mr. Berisha “was involved in corrupt acts, such as misappropriation of public funds and interfering with public processes, including using his power for his own benefit and to enrich his political allies and his family members” while prime minister from 2005-2013.

The day after, Berisha declared the accusations raised against him by the US Secretary of State are “a product of slandering and public defamation”, charging his attorney to bring the case to the Correctional Tribunal of Paris.

Berisha, who is also one of the co-founders of the Democratic Party in Albania, called on Blinken to present the evidence against him in court.

“I hereby invite the Secretary of State to send any evidence, fact, or document that he has on Sali Berisha to the Paris Court. I guarantee you, he has nothing”, he said.

Mr. Berisha filed the case in May considering Mr. Blinken’s claims for “significant corruption” baseless and “rendered without any evidence, fact, or document” that would support the decision to levy sanctions.

That decision … came eight years after he resigned from any leadership position and every public executive function and three weeks after the candidate he supported lost the election.

In addition, during 30 years of hiscareer, Mr Berisha have never been charged or investigated for any form of corruption. No one has ever filed a lawsuit or proven any allegations of corruption in a court of law against him or his family members.

The State Department has made no comment until now.

 

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