By Kastriot Dervishi
Memorie.al / The anti-fascists who were imprisoned in Italy under different circumstances, but who were released by the Anglo-Americans in 1943, after the departure of the American mission from Tirana in November 1946, were almost all imprisoned. Some were sentenced to death and others to prison terms. They had to assert that they were performing agency duties. One of the convicts, in the trial where Adem Dërhemi, Vahid Maçi, Njazi Bimi and Xhemal Farka were sentenced to death, was Faik Hajdari from Përmeti. He was arrested on 4.1.1947 and sentenced to 20 years in prison.
In a letter sent to the Central Committee of the ALP, he confesses his investigation. Faiku, you were born in Përmet. He came to the capital in 1940. In January 1943, together with some other Albanians, they went to Italy for professional courses. At the capitulation of Italy, they were captured by the carabinieri and imprisoned. It was released by the Anglo-Americans.
On his return, he joined the partisans of Shkodra, in August 1944, even on 29.11.1944, with the formation of the XXVII Assault Brigade; he was accepted as a member of the PKSH. The investigator was asked by: Muço Saliu, Raqi Zavalani, Niko Bimli. You had told him the biography several times, but they wanted the “meetings” with Antoni Stevens (of the American mission), the “contracts”, etc.
Excerpts from Faik Hajdar’s letter:
“After three days, they started with torture. I always resisted. Captain Muçua and lieutenant Raqi, they told me that; o I would die; I would talk. Here you have three paths, they said to me: ‘Oh, you want to die, or you want to go crazy, but we will make you sing like a nightingale, take out the mother’s milk that you drank’.
I always resisted, but in vain. The tortures were increasing every day. They questioned me two or three times a day. They tortured me by beating me, until I didn’t know where I was. Then they took me to the needy. They left me standing, without bread, without food, without water. Naked in January and February 1947, with cold water, etc.
In this way I lasted 68 days. During this time, I became crazy; I didn’t know what I was talking about. The investigating officers, Captain Muçua and Lieutenant Raqi, took the opportunity to write what they wanted from me and how they wanted it. After 68 days I started talking strange things. I was forced to accept all these unjust accusations by torture.
One day, when they sang to me what they had written, I denied all of them, saying that they are not true at all, but I accepted them from the wood. Out of anger, the captain started the wood again, which he continued for a month until I was forced to accept them. On the occasion of Eid in November 1945, I had come to Tirana with permission.
Captain Muço and Lieutenant Raqin told me that I had come to meet Stevens. They asked me where I was taking the information and what commitment I had made with my friends, Ramazan Ballata, Shefqet Kavaja, Osman Shkalla, Nikoll Bruka. We gave the information to the driver, Masar Sojli.
They told me that they knew all this, but they wanted to hear it from me. “Speak up, you scoundrel, or do you want to die as Fultz’s hero.” I told them that I didn’t know anything, they told me; “I don’t know anything”. During this time, the electricity along with the wood continued. I was forced to accept unreal things. They told me:
“Listen here; don’t deny them again that we will take the soul. You are a fool, we neither want nor intend to punish you, but we want to expose the Americans. That’s why he accepted that this is the only way he will do the work of defense”. I told them to bring me letters and sign them and write on them, as much as they wanted and whatever they wanted, but they didn’t tell me, I would speak and write on my own.
The captain told me that if I didn’t do these things, I knew what was waiting for me. I had to tell my friends that we had sent information. However, I found the opportunity and wrote to Ramazan Bellalla at the door of the dungeon, that they had forced me to sign unknown things, with the side of the stick, but he did not accept, but if he could not stand the torture, he should accept it. In court, we would tell the truth.
When Captain Raqi found out about this, he tied my feet and kept me tied day and night for two months, with a quarter of a loaf of bread and told me to issue a statement about what I had told Ramadan. I gave him the statement like this: “I told Ramadan to accept, that you will die on the tree like me”.
Lieutenant Nikua wanted to complicate me with Kole Kuqali, he said that we had a meeting at his house. But there I went to comfort him, for the murdered boy, whom I had as a friend. He also wanted to connect me with Loni Adami, Neni Radovicka, Spiro Ruço…!
I resisted the truth, 21 days straight. He questioned me twice a day. He subjected me to these tortures: the vest, beatings, gave me ¼ of the bread, left me without bread twice in 4 days, tied my hands behind my back with handcuffs to the dungeon door.
Lieutenant Nikua came after the trial and told me why I did not accept the process. I told him that I could not accept that, that it was not true and that you wrote it with the uncle’s side. Then out of anger he beat me. Memorie.al
