FLASH NEWS
Ilir Meta, the cage and the yellowed leaf, why is the trial of the former president a warning that after him, it's Edi Rama and Sali Berisha's turn?!
2026-04-28 20:26:55 / POLITIKË
By Rigels Seliman
I have always been a supporter of the Justice Reform and of the role that the Special Prosecution Office (SPAK) has taken in combating impunity in Albania. Likewise, I have never spared criticism of Ilir Meta, Sali Berisha, Edi Rama and essentially the entire political class that has held Albania hostage to its own interests for decades. It has always been clear to me that whoever has abused power must be held accountable, regardless of the name or position they have held.
But as I saw Ilir Meta yesterday in the courtroom (GJKKO), locked behind glass, pale, tired, almost physically wasted like a leaf falling in late autumn, I felt something that went beyond the usual political debate. For a moment, I was no longer simply seeing a former president, former prime minister, former speaker of the parliament or a polarized political figure. I was seeing the brutal downfall of a man and, with it, a strong symbolism about how power ends.
The sight was shocking. Not because Ilir Meta should not face justice - on the contrary, if SPAK's accusations are proven by the Special Court (GJKKO), he should be punished like anyone else. But because that image raised an uncomfortable question: where does justice end and where does the spectacle of public punishment begin?
Justice has the duty to punish guilt, not to produce scenes of humiliation. A state of law is measured not by the way it treats model citizens, but by the way it treats the accused, even those whom the public may hate. When prison arrest begins to be perceived as a preliminary punishment and public exposure as part of the process, there is a risk that justice will no longer be seen as impartial, but as an instrument of collective anger.
And it is precisely here that Meta's case takes on a greater dimension. It is no longer just the personal story of a declining politician. It is an alarm bell for the entire Albanian political elite. Today, Meta was in that cage. Tomorrow, if justice is to be truly equal, we may see other figures like Rama or Berisha in the same position.
This should be the message of justice reform: no one is untouchable. Neither those who governed yesterday, nor those who govern today. But this message loses its power if it is accompanied by the perception of a justice system that publicly condemns a person before the process is complete.
It is time for the perception of prison and detention in Albania to be reviewed. The public often treats prison as an abstract concept, almost as a privilege limited to VIPs. In reality, the conditions, isolation and psychological exhaustion can be much harsher than one might think. For this reason, more transparency is needed, and even more information on the processes, conditions and how the measure of imprisonment is implemented.
In the end, what I saw yesterday of former President Ilir Meta did not arouse my political sympathy. He remains a figure I have criticized and continue to see as part of the Albanian problem. But that sight reminded me of something fundamental: power is a fleeting illusion. People who seem invincible can end up alone, faded and ruined, facing a system they once thought they could control.
The yellowing leaf I saw yesterday behind the glass was not just Ilir Meta. It was a metaphor for a political class that is entering its coldest season. And the question now is simple: who will be the next leaf to fall?
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