By Dashnor Kaloçi
Part six
Memorie.al / It was the morning of September 1, 1976, when the workers of the Fishing Enterprise who were the first to arrive at their workplace located on the shore of Lake Shkodra near the village of Shiroka, found that the guard of the enterprise of that sector was surprisingly missing, as well as the office staff, something that had never happened before?! This is because, among other things, there was also the pier where all the fishing boats were anchored, which, tied with chains and locked with a key, were considered objects of special importance and were under the control and double guard, both by the fishing enterprise and by the Border Post located in the village of Zogaj, where the state border with Montenegro, at that time part of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia of Marshal Tito, was also located.
Although a torrential and stormy rain continued to fall, which had started since midnight, the fishermen began to look for the guard and the foreman of their company, calling them by name, but in vain, because no one answered? But after a while, they were stunned and terrified, when just a few meters away from the fish warehouse, they saw a corpse lying on the ground with no signs of life…! It was the 50-year-old guard, Fadil Rizaj, who had been serving in that position for several years. No one dared to touch him with their hands, because not only was he bloody and with visible marks on his head and body, but his hands were tied with rope from behind his body and also his respiratory organs, tied with a cloth behind his head…! Which clearly meant that he had been killed…!
After that scene of horror, some of the fishermen ran to the offices to call the heads of their company and the Internal Affairs Branch as well, but the telephone line was cut and the connection to Shkodra could not be established…! Meanwhile, from other checks to find the company’s wreck, it was also found that one of the boats (fishing boats) was missing from the pier on the lake shore, precisely the one known as; “Health Boat”, and the safe that held their keys, was broken with a crowbar!
Meanwhile, the alarm was given and there were some of the officers and main chiefs of the Shkodra Internal Affairs Branch, who immediately determined that not only were they dealing with a serious crime, but also with an escape by boat across the lake, which, among other things, would also aggravate their position before their superiors at the Ministry of Internal Affairs in Tirana. Meanwhile, the news spread and the investigative group with the relevant experts immediately began work to uncover the crime that had occurred and unravel the entire event, which a few days later would shock not only the city and district of Shkodra, but also Tivar, Titograd and Ulcinj in Montenegro!
But what had really happened, who and why had killed the fishing guard Fadil Rizaja? How many people had escaped and what had happened at midnight on August 31, as September 1, 1976 dawned, as a heavy rain fell with thunder and lightning, which was said to have never been remembered, even by the oldest residents of those parts? Why were several dead bodies found on the shore of the lake on the Yugoslav side and another corpse on our side of the border, near the border post in the village of Zogaj? How was the main author of that escape able to swim to the part of the lake that belonged to the border of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, on that dark night with rain, waves and storm?
Who was Hamit Arif Myrto and what did he initially say to the residents of that area, when they saw him completely naked in the alleys of their village, as well as to the competent Yugoslav authorities, regarding the reasons for his escape? What did the UDB authorities ask Hamit during the investigation process in several separate offices in Tivar, Titograd and Ulcinj, where they sent him, frequently changing his location, his “cellmates” and the investigators who interrogated him? What did he testify to when they asked him about the military bases and units, the missile unit and other installations that were located at that time in the Shkodra district, as well as the tracts that were dropped in that city those days, against the Party of Labor and Enver Hoxha?
What did Hamit tell the UDB bodies, regarding his brother-in-law, a minister in the government headed by Mehmet Shehu, and also one of the closest people to the dictator Enver Hoxha, who remained in that position until the collapse of the communist regime? Who was the “photographer” from Shkodra who had escaped to Yugoslavia a few years ago and why were all the investigators asking Hamit about that person? Why did the Yugoslav UDB authorities decide to return Hamit Myrto to Albania, handing him over to the Albanian State Security bodies, even though they were convinced that he had not been sent on a secret mission?
What did Hamit testify during the investigative process, such as the reasons that had forced him to undertake that dangerous adventure, and also everything he had told the UDB? What did Hamit write in the letter addressed to Enver Hoxha to the Minister of Defense Beqir Balluku and how was it possible to find that letter in his house in Shkodra? What did Hamit’s family members, relatives, neighbors, work colleagues, the brigadier, the director of the Fishing Enterprise, the chairman of the People’s Council of the “Partizani” Neighborhood where he lived, and other people who were called to testify against him, testify during the investigation process, in the fall of 1976?
Why was the trial of Hamit Myrtos held in the village of Shiroka, how much was he convicted by the Shkodra District Court, the Criminal College of the Supreme Court and why did the Presidium of the People’s Assembly, leave their decisions in force, for his death sentence (by hanging) even after that terrible tragedy that had happened to him; where he lost his entire family? What were Hamit’s last words before the firing squad and why, to this day, has his grave not yet been found?!
Regarding these and other of the most serious and tragic events that the Shkodra region and Montenegro experienced in those years, we are informed by the archival documents of the voluminous relevant file that Memorie.al has provided, which we are publishing in several issues (with the relevant facsimiles and photos), with the sole purpose of shedding light and making known the monstrous crimes that occurred at that time, where Albanians, in order to escape the communist hell, were forced to undertake the most dangerous adventures towards the state border, just like the main character of this event, Hamit Arif Myrtja!
Continued from the previous issue
MINUTES OF THE INTERROGATION OF HAMIT ARFIF MYRTJA, BY THE INVESTIGATOR OF THE SHKODRA INTERNAL BRANCH, JAKE TEFIKU ON OCTOBER 11 AND 29, 1976
Minutes
In the city of Shkodra, today, 11.10.1976, I, Jake Tefiku, investigator in the Internal Affairs Branch, interrogated the defendant Hamit Arif Myrto.
Question: Apart from what you said in the investigation, what else were the Yugoslav authorities interested in about the situation in Albania?
Answer: As I said, when I went to Titograd in prison, after the first question, a dark-skinned person came to the prison where I was, who I explained and in addition to what I said there, he became interested and asked me what tasks the Albanian Security had given you, why they sent you here to Yugoslavia, they called me to tell them, they repeated this several times. When I saw that they did not believe my words, I told them that I did not come to carry out espionage in Yugoslavia, I did not know the language, I would not take my family with me if I left for this job!
I even remember that, since I was annoyed by their irregular questions, I told them that I did not come here for such things as you think, that I drowned my entire family in the lake, but I came for the reasons that I have stated in my previous statements. They also wrote about this in the letter, but they did not take my signature. I forgot to tell them that they told me when they asked me, that tell us the truth, if you tell us the truth, we will make an effort to keep you here, you have your life in your hands if you tell the truth. They asked me to give them everything I knew. I told them that apart from what I have given, I do not know anything else. They asked me to agree to give everything and to admit that I was not a Sigurimi envoy on duty.
Question: You said in your trial that for several days, you stayed with a boy who knew Albanian. What are you interested in knowing about our country?
Answer: Ay, you are interested in knowing the reason for my escape to Yugoslavia. He spoke a little Albanian, according to him, because he was afraid of the Yugoslav authorities, because he was forbidden to speak Albanian. Otherwise, he was not interested and waited for me to tell him. When I asked the boy why they had put him in prison and how much he had been sentenced, he told me that they had sentenced him to 30 days for drinking in a club and breaking beer bottles. I only stayed with this boy for 16 days, then they took me away and took me to another room alone and they didn’t bring anyone. So I only stayed for about 20 days. Ay, the boy told me that he had learned Albanian because he had been with Albanians and that I learned it from them.
Question: And the rifle that guard Fadil Rezija had, where did you take it?
Answer: The night I set out to escape to Yugoslavia, I had the rifle in the boat, until the hour the boat sank, I did not throw it away when I threw away the other belongings and clothes. The rifle was short. When I was in Titograd, the third questioner asked me if this was the boat you came on and that sank. After I looked at it carefully, I said yes, this is it. It was about 7-8 m. from the edge of the water. Another photograph was not presented to me anywhere in Yugoslavia. Two days after my appearance in Titograd, I was summoned to court as a defendant. I went and appeared in court accompanied by police. At the end of 16 days, they called me again.
They asked me how I escaped and crossed the Yugoslav border, because I did not have documents and that crossing there was illegal and prohibited. After I gave my explanations, they sentenced me to 15 days in prison. At the end of the 16 days, they called me back to court and without asking me, they sentenced me to another 20 days and gave me another letter. The translator was not there, I asked for the translator, but he was not there, I told those police officers, but they shrugged their shoulders and did not understand me and I did not understand them either. I took the letter and went to prison and there I found a person at the time of the exit to the yard, who read it to me and told me that they had sentenced me to 20 days. After they saw that he had talked to me, they immediately took him away and did not allow the person who read my letter to me anymore.
Question: Apart from Titograd, did they take you to any other city? How far did Ulcinj take you from Titograd?
Answer: Apart from Ulcinj and Titograd, they didn’t take me to any other place. As far as I remember and as I recall, Ulcinj from Titograd took as long as Shkodra to Tirana. As long as I stayed in Titograd, they didn’t take me to any other place.
Question: During your questioning of the Yugoslav authorities, were you able to learn the names and addresses of any of them, or the translator?
Answer: I can’t learn their names, since they didn’t call you by your first name and spoke in Nash.
Question: How did you receive the decision of the Council of Ministers to reduce and harmonize the salaries of some sectors?
Answer: I learned it in the company’s directorate and the basic party organization held a meeting of communists and some fishermen from one or two of them and they worked on the above decision and expressed solidarity, while they did not listen to the fishermen’s words. Later, the secretary of the bureau said at the meeting; do you agree that I should notify the party organs of your solidarity with the decision of the government and the Party and we said that we agree.
Question: Did you ever send your wife to Kosmaç before you escaped, why did you send her, how long did she stay and when did she return?
Answer: About 10 days before we escaped to Yugoslavia, my mother-in-law’s aunt from Kosmaç had also come there and stayed there for a few days, then she invited my wife and mother-in-law to go to Kosmaç to stay for a few days. My wife Hasije told me and I told her to go. She took her mother and went. He stayed there for a few days and since the days of taking the leave from the company were approaching, I went on Saturday and took him by taxi to Kosmač and brought him home, that is, two days before my escape.
I read and signed the process.
The defendant Investigator
Hamit Myrto Jake Tefiku
MINUTES
In the city of Shkodra, today, 29.10.1976, I, Jake Tefiku, investigator at the Internal Affairs Branch, interrogated the defendant HAMIT ARIF MYRTO.
Question: What explanation can you give us about the content of the hostile letter that you left in your apartment?
Answer: I wrote the content of my letter that I left, I don’t remember now what I wrote, but I know that I wrote badly about the Party and the government, driven by the anger I had for those reasons that I have stated in my investigative report.
Question: Is this the letter that you wrote? (The letter is shown)
Answer: Yes, this is the letter that I wrote and left in my apartment when I escaped to Yugoslavia, I left this letter in a sealed envelope, while on the back of the envelope I wrote the address or not, I don’t remember that.
Question: What was your purpose in leaving this hostile letter?
Answer: To learn about my escape and the reasons that prompted me to do this, i.e., that I escaped.
Question: When did you talk to your wife about your dissatisfaction and about writing this hostile letter?
Answer: I am not able to tell you whether my wife, Hasije, learned about the contents of the letter. She knows that only I wrote something during the days when we talked about escaping, but whether she saw the contents of the letter or not, I am not able to tell you.
Question: We ask you once again, with what means did you kill Fadil Rrezi?
Answer: As I said, only with the butt of a rifle and nothing else.
Question: From the examination of the crime scene and the forensic report, there are wounds on Fadil Rrezia’s body that were inflicted with a cutting tool, while the butt of the rifle is not a cutting tool, what can you explain to us about this?
Answer: I have said and I repeat that I hit Fadil Rrezia only with the butt of the rifle and with no other tool.
Question: What testimony did you give to the Yugoslav authorities regarding the murder of Fadil Rrezia?
Answer: I have testified as I have said here, that is, that I proposed to them to allow me to escape and Fadil refused and prevented me. I then shot him with the butt of the rifle, tied him up and left. I have not given any other testimony to the Yugoslav authorities.
Question: From the content of the decision of the Titograd district court, and mainly in its reasoning, it is stated that…. “On August 31, 1976, at around 11:00 p.m., Fadil Rrezia took his life, from there he stole the rifle and shot him several times in the head with it…then he cut off his head with knives and after that he bandaged Fadil’s corpse…”! Have you made such a deposition before the Yugoslav authorities? What can you testify about this?
Answer: I have testified before the Yugoslav authorities as I said in my investigation process. It is not true that I testified before them that I stabbed Fadil Rrezi with a knife, cut off his head and hid it. I do not know how and on what basis the Yugoslav authorities justified their decision, because they took my testimonies in Serbian (Nashke), so I do not know and this decision was not translated into Albanian by the translator who was assigned to me. I remember that I may have also told them about the idea that I had before Fadil, to accept that he be bound by me for the purpose of justification.
Question: When you appeared at the Fishing Bureau, where did you find the guard Fadil, at which place at the entrance to the gate, or at the place where the company’s duty officer was standing?
Answer: At first, he was in front of the prison, then when I left, he came and we went in front of the prison building.
Question: Where did you first show the decision you had made to escape, Fadil?
I first showed the decision I had made to escape to Yugoslavia when we were at the guardhouse, after arranging the children in the corridor of the company offices, the wife was not present, I was alone with him. Fadil got angry there and did not accept this proposal, and said; I will kill you. I then took it in stride by talking and we went upstairs, to the mani that is in front of the company offices. Here I told Fadil that I have decided to definitely escape to Yugoslavia, so do not hinder me.
I told him that in order for you to justify yourself to the authorities for my escape, I will tie you up and they will not say anything to you. But after Fadil heard this, he refused again and refused. Then I treated him as I said in my investigation process, with the butt of a rifle and not with knives. I first hit him, and then I tied him up. When I hit him at first, he screamed a little, so that he had no chance of hearing, in case any passersby passed by.
Question: By the way, where was Fadil’s body found, that they are a few meters apart, who took him there and in what way?
Answer: I am not able to tell you whether we went there ourselves after arguing, or whether I took him.
Question: Near the body of the guard where the guard’s employee was standing, a hammer and a piece of nylon netting like a rope were found. What can you tell us about these, who and why were these found there, did you try to tie up the victim Fadil at that moment?
Answer: No, they may have fallen on me when I took out the pack of cigarettes, I mean the nylon net, and I left the hammer there because later we were going to dismantle the key safe and use it to open the locks of the boats.
Question: We ask you once again, did your wife participate in the murder of Fadil?
Answer: She did not participate in the murder of Fadil, she stayed in the office corridor with the small children. I could not take my wife to help me, because I was afraid, she would be shocked.
Question: When did you sell the house that you had as your property and to whom?
Answer: I sold the house eight years ago to a Dobraçasi who was interested in buying that house. At that time, I had a room upstairs and a barn downstairs. I sold the house because I didn’t get along with my mother, sisters, and brother. They made my life unbearable, beating me and my wife.
Question: Do you have anything else to say about the accusation, or any claims for the development of the investigation? Any witnesses to question in clarifying the issues you claim?
Answer: I have nothing else to say, regarding the accusation and my claims, they are written correctly, I ask for justice and mercy. I want to add that I am very sorry for what I have done, but now it is too late.
I read the process and signed it. Memorie.al
The defendant Present Investigator
Hamit A. Myrtja Ilo Note Jake Tefiku
