Albania’s Special Prosecution Office (SPAK) formally asked on December 12 for the removal of the parliamentary immunity granted to former president and prime minister Sali Berisha to allow him to be placed under house arrest. 

Berisha and his son-in-law are suspects in a case concerning the sale of the Partizani sports complex back in 2008. 

SPAK asked for house arrest after the opposition leader refused to appear before the prosecution during the ongoing investigation. 

Prosecutors are now asking for Berisha's legal status to be changed from "mandatory appearance" to house arrest. Additionally, the prosecution has imposed travel restrictions on the former Albanian leader. 

Berisha told a press conference on December 12 that he will abide by any decision made by the parliament in response to the prosecutors' request. 

However, he accused his political rival Prime Minister Edi Rama of trying to eliminate the opposition from parliament. 

Berisha and his son-in-law Jamarber Malltezi were charged with corruption and money laundering in October. SPAK claimed in a statement posted on its website that Malltezi exploited Berisha's position as prime minister to privatise the former Partizani sports complex, which was then sold at a reduced price to Malltezi. 

At the time, Berisha denied the allegations, describing them as unfounded. 

The allegations were first submitted to the the prosecutor’s office three years ago by Interior Minister Taulant Balla, the former head of the governing Socialist Party’s parliamentary group. 

In a statement on his Facebook page, Berisha said SPAK’s request would not stop the actions of opposition MPs. They have repeatedly disrupted parliament sessions by building chair barricades, setting off flares and setting fire to papers within the chamber. 

“There will be no change in our civil disobedience strategy because of this issue. We continue with civil disobedience, and the group has discussed and completely agrees with the positions presented by me. You have seen that the opposition no longer votes in parliament, or votes with civil disobedience,” Berisha told journalists. 

Berisha served as Albania’s prime minister from 2005-2013 and as president from 1992-1997. 

He stepped down as leader of the opposition Democratic Party in 2013, after it lost power to Rama’s Socialists, but announced his intention to return as party leader following the party’s latest general election defeat in 2021. Since then, the party has been torn apart by political infighting between Berisha and his rivals. 

In May 2021, the US government banned Berisha and his immediate family from entering the country due to their alleged involvement in corruption. At the time, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken accused Berisha of engaging in corrupt practices during his tenure as prime minister.