Press Release

The Prosecution Office at the Tirana Judicial District Court informs about the meeting held in the premises of the Barcelona Prosecution Office, in the Directorate of International Judicial Cooperation for the case of the deceased, S.S
The meeting was attended by Mónica Marcos, Prosecutor at the Department of International Relations, Sonia Canal, Prosecutor of the case, as well as Ms. Suela Salavaci Prosecutor of the case at the Prosecution Office of the Judicial District of Tirana and representative of the Ministry of Justice.

In the meeting dated 08.02.2023 the issues, previously presented electronically to the Spanish side on 06.02.2023, were discussed, regarding the following:

- The progress of the execution of the second letter of the Tirana Judicial District Prosecution Office sent in April 2022
The Spanish side informed the Prosecutor Ms. Salavaci, that they have examined the information of this request and very soon it will be forwarded to the Albanian authorities, as it is being finalized.

- Delivering the heart of the deceased S.S to the Albanian authorities to carry out the DNA analysis
The Spanish side clarified that due to the opening of the case in Spain by the family members of the deceased, as well as in the conditions where the case is currently being examined in the Supreme Court, a decision from this court is being expected and subsequently the delivery of the heart to Albania will proceed.

- Carrying out the DNA test
In conditions where the execution of the letter rogatory is in process, the performance of the test will be decided by the Spanish Court, a decision which is currently under consideration, but at any moment at the end of the processes in Spain, the heart will be delivered to Albania.

- The inconsistency of the dates claimed by the sister of the deceased that the histopathological study of the heart of citizen S.S was done on 22.04.2020, (while this citizen passed away on 09.05.2020).
In relation to this claim, the Spanish side clarified that this is a written material error, since the histological study began on 22.05.2020, this is also due to the fact that the dates referred to in the decision prove that it is an error in the written material.

The Albanian side, the prosecutor of the case, Ms. Salavaci, requested information on:

o    The provisions of the Spanish procedural legislation regarding the preservation of the genetic material or the organ on which any scientific analysis is also performed. The Spanish prosecutor informed that according to the Spanish criminal procedure, the organ (heart) is destroyed after the end of the process.
o    In relation to the specific case, the Albanian prosecutor requested a guarantee for the preservation of the organ (heart) and the Spanish prosecutor made available a copy of the decision of the Court of Barcelona dated 25.08.2021, urgently forwarded to the National Institute of Toxicology and Forensic Medicine in Barcelona, where it was decided that the organ (heart) of the deceased S.S should not be destroyed by the Institute of Forensic Medicine.

The Albanian side brought to the attention of the Spanish authorities the sensitivity that this issue had received in Albania, including the media and relevant institutions. Albanian authorities are fully committed to resolving the issue.
For the above, we requested  direct communication between the Prosecution Offices to exchange information in time.