Albanian ex-policeman jailed for killing during curfew

An Albanian court on Wednesday sentenced a former police officer to 10 years imprisonment for the fatal shooting of a man late last year during a COVID-19 curfew patrol.

A court in the capital, Tirana, convicted Nevaldo Hajdaraj of “homicide in excess of necessary self-defence” for killing 25-year-old Klodian Rasha in December 2020 in Tirana amid a curfew. Police said Rasha ran away ignoring police officers' call to stop.

Hajdaraj was sacked after that shooting that sparked a week of violent protests in defiance of a coronavirus ban on public gatherings and also prompted the country's interior minister to resign.

Hajdaraj acknowledged the shooting and told the court he regretted his actions.

Rasha's father, Qazim, reacted angrily to the fact that the ex-policeman was given a one-third reduction in his sentence after acknowledging committing the crime.

“How could you call this justice when everything is clear but with a pen you turn it into a restricted judgment?” he asked.