By Dashnor Kaloçi
Part Two
Memorie.al / 43 years ago, on the morning of December 18, 1981, the Albanian Prime Minister Mehmet Shehu, who had held that position since 1953, was found dead in his bedroom (according to the official version, from a bullet from a “pistol”), in the villa where he lived with his family, at the entrance to the “Block” of the high leadership of the Albanian Party of Labor, just a few meters from the building of the Central Committee of the Party and also from Enver Hoxha’s villa. Although more than four decades have passed since that day, which is considered one of the most serious and scandalous events of that regime, even today there is no clear and accurate version regarding what happened to the former Prime Minister of Albania, Mehmet Shehu, on the midnight transitioning to December 18, 1981! However, even after the 1990s, dozens of testimonies and archival documents have been made public regarding that event; “the murder or suicide of Mehmet Shehu” continues to be a subject of much debate and discussion, even enveloping the truth surrounding it in more mystery!
Based on this fact, within the framework of publishing dozens of testimonies and archival documents from the secret fund of the former State Security and the Ministry of Internal Affairs, or from the Central Committee of the Party, which we have published in these three decades after the collapse of Enver Hoxha’s communist regime and that of his successor, Ramiz Alia, Memorie.al has secured the voluminous file of “the enemy Mehmet Shehu,” which has been extracted from the secret fund of the former State Security (at the Ministry of Internal Affairs), where, with a few small exceptions, the majority of them have never seen the light of publication and are being published for the first time.
In the mentioned file, the complete expert report of the investigative-operational group, which was established immediately on the morning of December 18, 1981, is found with its members, including Koço Josifi (head of the Investigation of the Directorate of Internal Affairs of Tirana), forensic doctors Dr. Fatos Harito and Docent Bashkim Çuberi, the doctors of the Prime Minister, Milto Kostaqi and Llesh Rroku, as well as the criminal expert from the Central Criminalistics Laboratory of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, Estref Myftari, assisted by senior officials of that ministry, Xhule Çiraku, Elham Gjika, and Lahedin Bardhi.
Also, in the voluminous file that we are making public, there are also the testimonies of the family members of former Prime Minister Mehmet Shehu, service personnel, and his escort group, as well as all the other individuals who were called and testified about that event. For more about this, etc., the documents in question inform us, which we are publishing together with their facsimiles and respective photos.
Continued from the previous issue
ARCHIVAL DOCUMENT WITH THE PROTOCOL OF THE SUPERVISION OF THE CRIME SCENE REGARDING THE DEATH OF MEHMET SHEHU, BY INVESTIGATOR KOÇO JOSIFI, CRIMINAL EXPERT ESTREF MYFTARI, FORENSIC EXPERTS DOC. BASHKIM ÇUBERI AND DR. FATOS HARITO, AND PRESENT WITNESSES ALI ÇENO AND MILTO KOSTAQI
Description of the corpse:
The head has gray hair, of medium length, slightly falling back, with closed eyes, wearing metal-framed glasses, the pupils evenly dilated, the whites of the eyes and the cornea are pale, and there is no secretion from the mouth, nose, or ears. He is wearing a white cotton shirt and a white long-sleeved undershirt, the upper three buttons of the shirt are unbuttoned, the shirt’s sleeves are unbuttoned, and the undershirt has three buttons; the upper two are unbuttoned. On the left wrist, he is wearing a watch with a white face, yellow hands with a second hand, date indicator, with a dark leather strap.
On the lower part of the body, he is wearing a pair of light cream-colored pajamas, which are unbuttoned at the top. On the left side of the shirt, 14 cm below the collar seam and 9 cm left from the buttonhole, there is a split-shaped injury, measuring 3 x 2.3 cm; the edges of the injury are dark, especially more pronounced at the top, where the shirt material has a darker color in an area extending from the right, at a height of 1.1 cm, from the left, 1 cm above and below 5 cm, extending down to 8 cm.
Below this injury on the shirt, 1 cm away, a red stain begins, irregularly shaped, measuring 5.3 x 4 cm. On the left side of the undershirt, exactly 12 cm below the collar and 10 cm away from the chest opening, there is an injury that is almost round with a diameter of 1.4 cm, and the edges of the injury appear dark. Around this injury, about 1 cm there is a gray hematoma. 2 cm below the injury begins a red stain, measuring 7 x 6.5 cm, with an irregular shape.
On the back of the shirt, approximately at the waistline 37 cm, where the collar seams are located, there appears to be an almost round-shaped injury, with a diameter of 0.6 cm. Around this injury, there is a large red stain that starts 12 cm above it in the form of erased lines, while below it expands up to 12 cm and covers the entire shirt, extending all the way down, 30 cm. On the back of the undershirt, 26 cm below the collar seam, approximately in its center, there seems to be an injury in an almost circular shape, with a diameter of 0.6 cm, with edges peeling from the outside.
The neck is symmetrical, the chest is symmetrical, with a cylindrical shape, the ribs do not show fracture injuries upon touch. The abdomen is at one level with the chest board. Six cm below the navel, there’s a longitudinal operative wound, 12 cm long, with regular organs (……………………..). The upper and lower limbs show no deformities or injuries. On the thumb nail of the right hand, and 2 to 3 cm left of the nail, two dark blue spots are observed, which do not disappear. On the left side of the chest, 6.3 cm away from the waistline, 3 cm above the level of the nipple, and 10.5 cm below the clavicle, a soft tissue defect is felt, oval-shaped and measuring 1.2 x 1.1 cm.
Around the edges of the injury, the rim of the abrasion, approximately 2.5 cm wide, indicates an attempt to close the edges, and fresh skin is observed around the injury. On the left side of the back, precisely 7.5 cm below the shoulder angle and 5 cm from the midline, there is a soft tissue injury, nearly round with a diameter of 0.6 cm. Post-mortem marks are expressed on the back and side of the body, in dark purple color and irregular shapes, which appear partially when pressed with a finger, and upon removal of the finger, change color with delay. Rigor mortis is well-developed in all muscle groups.
After moving the corpse, a penetrating hole with a diameter of 0.5 cm is observed on the upper pillow, almost in the middle of it, with a dark red stain surrounding the hole, measuring 3 x 3 cm. On the lower pillow, in correspondence with it, a penetrating hole is distinguished, with a diameter of 5 mm, at the upper part of which, 4 cm to the left, there is a dark red stain, measuring 1 x 1 cm. On the folded blanket, in eight parts, on the bottom edge, almost in the middle, a penetrating hole with a diameter of 0.5 cm is recognized. On the sheet, embedded in the mattress 43 cm from the left side and 23 cm from the head, a 9 mm caliber pistol is found, which is taken as material evidence.
Under the bed is a plastic urinal, and a crumpled paper wrapping. On the right side of the bed, on the floor, there are a pair of high-heeled shoes and a pair of black slippers made of fabric. Near the mirror, 50 cm away from the southern wall of the room, there is a clothes hanger, where a black fabric suit is neatly placed, a vest also made of black fabric, a cherry-colored tie with dots, a pajama jacket, and a pair of long underwear. On one of the sofas, there is a blanket, a pillow, and a wool belt, and a brown-robed dressing gown.
On the small table, there is a black leather bag, 30 x 40 cm, which was not opened by us. From our side, the fingerprints of both hands were taken from the corpse. The inspection of the crime scene was conducted with artificial light, starting at 9:30 AM and finishing at 1:00 PM, with a room temperature of 25 degrees.
The protocol concludes and is signed by the attendees.
CRIMINAL INSPECTOR INVESTIGATOR
ESTREF MYFTARI KOÇO JOSIFI
FORENSIC EXPERTS
DR. BASHKIM ÇUBERI DR. FATOS HARITO
PRESENT WITNESSES
ALI ÇENO MILTO KOSTAQI
ARCHIVAL DOCUMENT WITH THE DECISION FOR THE FORENSIC EXAMINATION OF THE BODY OF CITIZEN MEHMET ISMAIL SHEHU, BY THE CHAIRMAN OF THE INVESTIGATION BRANCH OF THE TIRANA DIRECTORATE OF INTERNAL AFFAIRS, KOÇO JOSIFI
DECISION ON THE FORENSIC EXAMINATION
Tirana, December 18, 1981
I, Koço Josifi, chairman of the Investigation Branch of the Directorate of Internal Affairs of Tirana, having studied the materials collected in the case regarding the suicide of citizen Mehmet Ismail Shehu:
FINDINGS
On December 18, 1981, at approximately 8:00 AM, citizen Mehmet Ismail Shehu was found dead in his bedroom, having committed suicide with a firearm.
To determine the damages incurred, the distance of the shot with the firearm, and the position of this damage.
Based on Article 25 of the Penal Procedure Code of the People’s Socialist Republic of Albania:
IT IS DECIDED
To appoint forensic experts, Doc. Bashkim Çuberi and doctor Fatos Harito, for the determination and conclusions regarding the above description.
I pose the following questions for the experts to address:
- What injuries are found on the body of citizen Mehmet Ismail Shehu and with what instrument were they caused?
- In the event that they were caused by a firearm, to determine the distance and direction of the shot?
- To determine the cause of death and the time at which death occurred.
CHAIRMAN OF THE INVESTIGATION BRANCH
KOÇO JOSIFI
ARCHIVAL DOCUMENT WITH THE REPORT OF THE FORENSIC EXAMINATION OF THE BODY OF CITIZEN MEHMET ISMAIL SHEHU, BY FORENSIC EXPERTS DR. FATOS HARITO AND DOCENT BASHKIM ÇUBERI
FORENSIC ACT NO. 133
ON THE FORENSIC EXAMINATION OF THE BODY OF CITIZEN MEHMET SHEHU
Today, on December 18, 1981, we, the forensic experts, Doc. Bashkim Çuberi and Dr. Fatos Harito, based on the decision dated December 18, 1981, by the chairman of the Investigation Branch of the Directorate of Internal Affairs of Tirana, comrade Koço Josifi, conducted the external examination of the body of citizen Mehmet Ismail Shehu, born on January 10, 1913, in the village of Çorush in the district of Fier, and residing in Block No. 8 of the city of Tirana.
The examination was conducted with the purpose of answering the questions posed in the expert decision:
- What injuries are found on the body of citizen Mehmet Ismail Shehu and with what instrument were they caused?
- In the event that they were caused by a firearm, to determine the distance and direction of the shot?
- To determine the cause of death and the time at which it occurred?
CIRCUMSTANCES OF THE CASE:
In the morning of December 18, 1981, citizen Mehmet Shehu was found dead in his home. During the examination of the crime scene, among other things, it was observed that his body was lying in bed, covered with a sheet and blanket up to the neck, and on his right side, there was a pistol. A cartridge was seen on the left side of the bed.
EXTERNAL EXAMINATION OF THE BODY:
The corpse is of a male, appearing to be around 70 years old, with a regular body structure, of average nourishment. Post-mortem marks are expressed on the back and side of the body, in dark purple, in irregular shapes, which partially disappear with pressure from a finger, and upon removing the finger, regain color with delay.
The body is clothed in a white cotton shirt, white long-sleeved undershirt, and a pair of cream-colored pajamas.
The head is regular, covered with gray hair, of medium length, partially falling back. After removing the optical glasses with metal frames, it was observed that the eyes were closed, pupils centered, the corneas transparent, the pupils equally dilated, and the sclerae and conjunctivas pale.
The mouth is closed, teeth are regular, and the tongue is positioned behind them. No secretion is observed from the nostrils, ears, or mouth. The neck is cylindrical in shape, with a length corresponding to that of the body. The rib cage is cylindrical, symmetrical, and the ribs show no signs of damage upon touch. The abdomen is level with the rib cage.
On the midline of the abdomen, 6 cm from the navel, a linear surgical scar (from an old surgical intervention) is visible, gray in color, and approximately 12 cm long. In the lower right quadrant of the abdomen, there is another wound, obliquely oriented, measuring 8 cm in length. The upper and lower limbs show no deformities or anomalies. On the left side of the shirt, about 14 cm below the collar seam and 5 cm from the buttonhole edges, a cross-shaped injury measuring 3 x 2.3 cm is observed.
The edges of the injury appear dark in color, which is more pronounced on the upper and left side. The shirt around the injury presents a darker hue, with an area extending from the right at a distance of 1 x 1.1 cm from the edges of the injury, from the left 1 cm, while above and below, 0.5 to 0.8 cm. At the bottom of this injury, the shirt is stained with blood. On the right side of the undershirt, exactly 12 cm below the collar and 10 cm from the buttonhole edges, there is an injury that is almost round with a diameter of 1.4 cm.
The edges of this injury have a dark color, and around it, there is a dark ring approximately 1 cm in length. On the back of the undershirt, 20 cm from the collar seam and in front of the midline, another injury is observed, in an almost round shape, with a diameter of 0.6 cm and with edges peeling from the outside. On the left side of the chest, specifically 3 cm above the nipple level, 6 cm from the midline, and 10.5 cm below the clavicle, there is a soft tissue injury in an oval shape, measuring 1.2 x 1.1 cm.
Around the edges of the injury, there is also a dark gray ring with a length of 2.5 cm. In an attempt to bring the edges of the wound together, there remains a lack of tissue. The skin around this injury shows no traces of deposits from additional factors. On the back, 5 cm to the left of the midline and 7.5 cm below the shoulder angle, there appears a soft tissue injury, nearly round with a diameter of 0.6 cm. Blood has flowed from both wounds, staining the clothes and the layers of the bed.
The right hand is clenched into a fist with the index finger closer to the palm. On the fingernail of the index finger of this hand, and 2-3 mm in the skin nearby, there are several dark blue spots (traces of gunpowder residue) that do not easily disappear when rubbed. During the external examination of the body, with the exception of the anticipated injuries, no other injuries were noted. Memorie.al
Continued in the next issue
