Albanian court orders retrial for former interior minister

TIRANA, Albania (AP) — Albania’s Supreme Court has ordered the re-trial of a former interior minister who was convicted of abuse of office two years ago. The Supreme Court’s decision on Tuesday mentioned irregular steps taken from the court judges and the prosecutor’s office during the case as the basis for its decision. The former minister, Saimir Tahiri, said he would proceed with another judicial step, complaining the Supreme Court “focused (only) on the procedural violations,” while he wants the court to overturn all the charges. In September 2019, Tahiri was sentenced to three years of probation for abuse of office but was acquitted of charges based on his alleged ties to a criminal network suspected of trafficking large amounts of marijuana.