Nchini Albania katika Mji wa Trianna Jaji Astrit Kalaja ameuawa kwa risasi baada ya mtuhumiwa katika kesi aliyokuwa akiendesha kufyatua risasi wakati kesi ikiendelea katika 'Mahakama ya Rufaa mjini Tirana'. Kwa mujibu wa taarifa za maafisa wa serikali, Jaji Kalaja alifariki dunia akiwa njiani kupelekwa hospitalini, huku watu wengine wawili waliokuwa wakihusiana na kesi ya mgogoro wa ardhi baba na mwana wakijeruhiwa, ingawa majeraha yao hayakuwa ya kutishia maisha
Polisi wamesema wamemkamata mwanaume mwenye umri wa miaka 30, ambaye vyombo vya habari nchini humo vimemtaja kwa jina la Elvis Shkëmbi
Ripoti za ndani zinaeleza kuwa mtuhumiwa aliamua kufyatua risasi baada ya kutarajia kupoteza kesi hiyo. Aidha, mjomba wa Shkëmbi na askari wa usalama wa mahakama hiyo pia wametiwa mbaroni kwa kuhusishwa na tukio hilo
Waziri Mkuu wa Albania, Edi Rama, ametuma salamu za rambirambi kwa familia ya marehemu Jaji Kalaja, akisema, “Tendo hili la kihalifu dhidi ya jaji linahitaji hatua kali zaidi za kisheria dhidi ya mtuhumiwa.”Pia ametoa wito wa kuimarishwa kwa usalama ndani ya mahakama za nchi hiyo na adhabu kali kwa wale wanaomiliki silaha kinyume cha sheria
Tukio hili limeibua hofu na majonzi makubwa nchini humo, huku mamlaka zikiahidi kuimarisha ulinzi kwa majaji na watumishi wa mahakama ili kuhakikisha usalama wao wakati wa utekelezaji wa majukumu yao ya kisheria
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Judge Astrit Kalaja died en route to hospital, officials said, while two others involved in the hearing over a property dispute - a father and son - were shot but sustained injuries that were not life-threatening
Police said they had arrested a 30-year-old male suspect who they identified by the initials "E Sh", but Albanian media have named as Elvis Shkëmbi
Albania's Prime Minister Edi Rama offered his condolences to Judge Kalaja's family, adding: "The criminal aggression against the judge undoubtedly requires the most extreme legal response toward the aggressor."
He also called for stricter security within the country's courts and harsher punishments for the illegal possession of weapons
Sali Berisha, leader of the opposition Democratic Party, said Judge Kalaja's murder was the first time in 35 years a judge had been killed "while doing his duty", adding: "Today is the day for a deep reflection by all Albanian society."
The suspect in Judge Kalaja's killing had opened fire because he expected to lose the case, according to local media reports
Mr Shkëmbi's uncle and the court's security guard have also reportedly been arrested over the shooting. Albania's general prosecutor Olsian Çela said in the wake of the incident that the security of judges needed enhancing "in every respect"
"Beyond the heartbreaking loss of one life and the injury of two others, this event strikes at the very foundation of justice and the functioning of the legal system," he said.
Firearm attacks on judges in the courtroom are rare but they do happen. A decade ago, a judge in Milan's Palace of Justice was shot and killed by a man on trial in a bankruptcy case
The gunman also killed a lawyer and his co-defendent before escaping, but was later arrested.
Judge Kalaja was a lawyer for more than 30 years. He initially worked in a district court before being appointed to Tirana's Court of Appeal in 2019
Among Balkan nations, Albania had the highest number of firearm incidents linked to public disputes in the first six months of this year, according to a UN-backed regional monitor
Between January and June, there were 43 instances in which a firearm was involved in a public dispute in Albania, out of a total of 213 firearm-related incidents
However, that is less than the number recorded in the same period last year, and less than the number of incidents reported in Kosovo, Montenegro, and Bosnia and Herzegovina in the first half of 2025
Source: BBC
Polisi wamesema wamemkamata mwanaume mwenye umri wa miaka 30, ambaye vyombo vya habari nchini humo vimemtaja kwa jina la Elvis Shkëmbi
Ripoti za ndani zinaeleza kuwa mtuhumiwa aliamua kufyatua risasi baada ya kutarajia kupoteza kesi hiyo. Aidha, mjomba wa Shkëmbi na askari wa usalama wa mahakama hiyo pia wametiwa mbaroni kwa kuhusishwa na tukio hilo
Waziri Mkuu wa Albania, Edi Rama, ametuma salamu za rambirambi kwa familia ya marehemu Jaji Kalaja, akisema, “Tendo hili la kihalifu dhidi ya jaji linahitaji hatua kali zaidi za kisheria dhidi ya mtuhumiwa.”Pia ametoa wito wa kuimarishwa kwa usalama ndani ya mahakama za nchi hiyo na adhabu kali kwa wale wanaomiliki silaha kinyume cha sheria
Tukio hili limeibua hofu na majonzi makubwa nchini humo, huku mamlaka zikiahidi kuimarisha ulinzi kwa majaji na watumishi wa mahakama ili kuhakikisha usalama wao wakati wa utekelezaji wa majukumu yao ya kisheria
A judge in Albania has been shot dead after a man opened fire during a trial at the Court of Appeal in the capital TiranaJudge Astrit Kalaja died en route to hospital, officials said, while two others involved in the hearing over a property dispute - a father and son - were shot but sustained injuries that were not life-threatening
Police said they had arrested a 30-year-old male suspect who they identified by the initials "E Sh", but Albanian media have named as Elvis Shkëmbi
Albania's Prime Minister Edi Rama offered his condolences to Judge Kalaja's family, adding: "The criminal aggression against the judge undoubtedly requires the most extreme legal response toward the aggressor."
He also called for stricter security within the country's courts and harsher punishments for the illegal possession of weapons
Sali Berisha, leader of the opposition Democratic Party, said Judge Kalaja's murder was the first time in 35 years a judge had been killed "while doing his duty", adding: "Today is the day for a deep reflection by all Albanian society."
The suspect in Judge Kalaja's killing had opened fire because he expected to lose the case, according to local media reports
Mr Shkëmbi's uncle and the court's security guard have also reportedly been arrested over the shooting. Albania's general prosecutor Olsian Çela said in the wake of the incident that the security of judges needed enhancing "in every respect"
"Beyond the heartbreaking loss of one life and the injury of two others, this event strikes at the very foundation of justice and the functioning of the legal system," he said.
Firearm attacks on judges in the courtroom are rare but they do happen. A decade ago, a judge in Milan's Palace of Justice was shot and killed by a man on trial in a bankruptcy case
The gunman also killed a lawyer and his co-defendent before escaping, but was later arrested.
Judge Kalaja was a lawyer for more than 30 years. He initially worked in a district court before being appointed to Tirana's Court of Appeal in 2019
Among Balkan nations, Albania had the highest number of firearm incidents linked to public disputes in the first six months of this year, according to a UN-backed regional monitor
Between January and June, there were 43 instances in which a firearm was involved in a public dispute in Albania, out of a total of 213 firearm-related incidents
However, that is less than the number recorded in the same period last year, and less than the number of incidents reported in Kosovo, Montenegro, and Bosnia and Herzegovina in the first half of 2025
Source: BBC
