Albania’s foreign ministry issued a statement on Wednesday blaming Greek authorities for the deaths of four Albanian citizens residing in Greece. All the deaths occurred in the span of two weeks.
The most recent death was of a man killed by an alleged Golden Dawn supporter in Corfu. Another man was shot by Greek police while trying to illegally cross the border while transporting drugs.
An Albanian prisoner was also found dead in circumstances that were deemed suspicious. Another death, that of an 18-year-old Albanian, took place in Kavala on Tuesday. However, new information says that this most recent death was caused by a 17-year-old friend, who confessed that he shot his fellow Albanian by accident while showing him a gun.
The country ofAlbania has called on Greek authorities to stop the activities of the Golden Dawn party and other extremist groups which the believe violate the rights, security and dignity of Albanians living and working in Greece.
“The foreign ministry expresses its indignation at the loss of the lives of our compatriots, which is even deeper due to the delays in the investigation of these cases by Greek authorities,” the statement said.
The government communique continued, “The Foreign Ministry condemns the extremist background and the hate speech that exists simultaneously with these events in the neighboring country”.
The statement said that Albania “calls on the Greek authorities to condemn and stop any attempt by Golden Dawn or other extremist groups trying to violate security and dignity of the Albanian citizens living and working in the neighboring country.”
There have been claims that the killer of a 63-year-old Albanian worker in Corfu, whose body was recently found in a ditch, is a Golden Dawn supporter.
The announcement concludes “when our citizens experience … an unprecedented campaign of hatred and violence, the Foreign Ministry expresses Albania’s commitment to provide victims and their families with all the necessary legal and financial support.”
Albania, it states, will “protect their fundamental rights as members of the largest European community living, studying and contributing to Greece for decades.”
The Hellenic Police stated in response that all cases have been investigated, and all judicial procedures have been carried out appropriately.
The Greek foreign ministry replied to the Tirana allegations with a statement by spokesman Alexandros Gennimatas, noting that “Greece is a European country where the rule of law works effectively. The competent authorities have immediately dealt with the cases reported by the Foreign Ministry of Albania”.
Gennimatas went on to state that “They have been investigated and already solved, as mentioned in a relevant announcement by the Hellenic Police.”
Source: http://greece.greekreporter.com/category/greek-news/tourism/