“When Mehmeti sent me to Italy, to accompany Bashkimi and Piro Misha, he said to me; be careful, because the Yugoslavs might abduct you and they will ask me to release you from prison…! The testimony during the investigation of the accompanying officer.”

By Dashnor Kaloçi   

Part twenty

Memorie.al / Exactly 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 of 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 Albanian Party of Labor and also from Enver Hoxha’s villa. Although more than four decades have passed since that day, considered one of the most serious and notorious events of that regime, there is still no clear and accurate version regarding what happened to the former Albanian Prime Minister Mehmet Shehu on the night leading 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,” which continues to be the subject of numerous debates and discussions, even wrapping it further in mystery around the truth.

Based on this fact, in the context of publishing dozens of testimonies and files with archival documents from the secret fund of the former State Security and the Ministry of Internal Affairs, or the Central Committee of the Albanian Party of Labor, which we have published over the decades since the collapse of Enver Hoxha’s communist regime and 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 (now part of the fund of the Authority for Information on the Documents of the former State Security), where, with a few minor exceptions, most of them have never seen the light of publication and are made public for the first time in full.

In the mentioned file, there are the relevant facsimiles, the expert report of the investigative-operational group that was set up immediately on the morning of December 18, 1981, led by Koço Josifi (head of the Investigative Directorate of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Tirana), the forensic doctors Dr. Fatos Hartito and Docent Bashkim Çuberi, the prime minister’s doctors, Milto Kostaqi and Llesh Rroku, as well as the criminalist expert from the Central Criminalistic Laboratory of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, Estref Myftari, assisted by high officials of that ministry, Xhule Çiraku, Elham Gjika, and Lahedin Bardhi.

Also, in the voluminous file that we are making public, there are testimonies from the family members of former Prime Minister Mehmet Shehu, from the service personnel, and his escort group, as well as from all other individuals who were summoned and testified about that event. Moreover, the documents in question, which we are publishing along with the facsimiles and relevant photos, provide more information regarding this matter.

However, even though we are dealing only with archival documents, it should be emphasized that; knowing how that system operated before the ’90s, we cannot claim absolute truth regarding what is written there, as not only from the individuals who provided their testimonies, but also from the investigators of this case, it has been made known that the testimonies were obtained under pressure, intimidation, and physical and psychological violence, with some investigators going so far as to write them themselves while the witnesses or defendants merely signed them.

                                                    Continued from the previous issue

ARCHIVAL DOCUMENT, WITH THE MINUTES OF THE INTERROGATION OF DASHAMIR VERO RABAJ, OFFICER OF THE ESCORT GROUP OF FORMER PRIME MINISTER MEHMET SHEHU, BY THE INVESTIGATORS OF THE MINISTRY OF INTERNAL AFFAIRS, SOKOL KOLEKA AND BASHKIM CAKA

                                                                   MINUTES

                                            (OF THE WITNESS INTERROGATION)

Today, on the date 28.5.1983, in Tirana.

We, the investigators of the M.P.B., Sokol Koleka and Bashkim Caka, are taking a witness statement.

1. Name, father’s name, surname: Dashamir Vero Rabaj.
2. Date of birth (day, month, year): 1952.
3. Education: Higher education (Unified Higher School of Officers).
4. Place of residence: Neighborhood No. 8, Boulevard “Shqipëria e Re”, Building 21, Entrance 18.
5. Position: Officer in Division 326, Tirana.
6. Party membership: Not a member of a party.
7. Has he been convicted: Not convicted?
8. ID number: ———-.

Relationship with the accused: No family ties.

The investigator warned me about the criminal responsibility, based on Article 202 of the C.P., for false testimony.

WITNESS SIGNATURE

Dashamir Rabaj

Regarding the matter, I can state the following:

In 1978, I started working as an officer in the escort group of the enemy Mehmet Shehu, proposed by my chief, Orjon Trebicka, to the group leader, Ali Çeno, to take me there, as there was a vacant position. During the time I worked there, I noticed that Mehmet and Fiqret Shehu and their children and daughters-in-law lived a bourgeois life, and treated us officers and service workers like servants, insulting, shouting, and offending us, etc.

After serving for a while, Ali and Jonuz Luto told me that I would be in charge of the films and photographs of Mehmet Shehu and his family, while my chief for this matter would be Jonuz Luto, who would manage his photo archive. So, I only developed the films and photographs, and then Jonuz Luto took care of the rest…!

Recently, Bashkim and Marjeta Shehu approached me because I got engaged to a school friend of Marjeta’s, but without her intervention. In June 1981, when Bashkim Shehu fled to Italy together with Pirro Misha and Shpëtim Çuçka, supposedly to attend some seminars in Perugia, they took me with them as an officer to guard Bashkim Shehu.

One day before we were to depart, Ali Çeno told me that Mehmet Shehu wanted to see me, as he would give instructions for there. I went to Mehmet Shehu’s office in his house, at Villa No. 6, where Ali Çeno and Fiqret Shehu also arrived. Among other things, Mehmet Shehu told me: “You must be careful when Bashkimi gets into the car and when he gets out there. This caution is necessary, not from the Italian, but from the Yugoslav, because they could abduct him and tomorrow they will tell me; get Gjin Marku out of prison, and we will give you the boy.”

Regarding the date of December 17, 1981, I spent the morning in the officers’ room, while Ali Çeno and Llesh Rroku accompanied Mehmet Shehu to the meeting of the Politburo. Since that evening it was my turn to be on duty there, after lunch I went to the officers’ room at 19:00. Around 20:00, Ali Çeno and Llesh Rroku came to the officers’ room and told us who were there that Mehmet Shehu had returned from the meeting.

In fact, I did not see Mehmet Shehu when he entered the house because I was inside the officers’ room and the windows were covered, and from my position, I couldn’t see who was entering or leaving the house. I was there with one of the radio operators, whose name I don’t remember, and with the driver on duty, Astrit Hitaj. When Ali entered the room, I noticed that he was very worried and did not have his usual mood.

After this, I know that immediately those who were off duty dispersed to their homes, including Ali Çeno, who left with Orjon Trebicka, but whether Ali said he would return there or not, I did not notice. Shortly after, Llesh Rroku was called by Mehmet Shehu for a visit, and after Llesh returned, he told us that he had measured Mehmet Shehu’s blood pressure, who had asked him to have another coffee, “although I told him no.”

I asked Lleshi what was wrong with Mehmet Shehu, and Lleshi told me that “Mehmet Shehu was alone in the room and was writing something at the work table.” Mehmet Shehu also asked Lleshi who was on duty that night among the officers, and he told him it was Dashamir Rabaj.

After Lleshi told me this, I called Ali Çeno at home and told him what I had discussed with Lleshi, that Mehmet Shehu had asked who was on duty that night, so you, if you want, come, if you want, stay at home. Ali told me to send him a car because he would come, and I sent the car with the driver Astrit Hitaj, who picked him up and brought him immediately to the officers’ room.

After Ali stayed with us for a while, he went out to check the services, but how often he went out and came into the officers’ room and how long he was delayed, I can’t determine, as a long time has passed. But I know that that night, Ali spoke on the phone with Haki Keta at our embassy in Italy, about some family orders, but I don’t remember what.

Around 24:00, we went to sleep, I shared a room with Milto Kostaqi, Lleshi was in the doctor’s room, Astrit in the driver’s room, and Ali Çeno in the service room. During the night, until we woke up the next morning at 6:45, we heard no noise at all.

The next morning, around 8:00, we heard that Valdimir Shehu called Ali Çeno on the intercom, who ran off, and we were told that Mehmet Shehu had killed himself………….!

As I said above, I read my statements; they are true and I sign them……………………………..! Memorie.al

Witness                                                                                      Investigators

Dashamir Rabaj                                                          Bashkim Caka Sokol Koleka

                                                   To be continued in the next number