Belisha, the leader of the Albanian resistance, is no longer under house arrest, the court says

Sali Berisha, the leader of the opposition, was released from house arrest by an Albanian court on Wednesday while he waits to be tried on corruption charges. At the same time, protests against his detention grew stronger.

Since December 2023, Berisha, who is 80 years old, has been in jail. In September, prosecutors charged him with using his power as prime minister in his first term, from 2005 to 2009, to help his son-in-law get a big building job.

The head of the opposition Democratic Party, Berisha, denies the charges and says they are part of the ruling party’s political plot against him.

Protests against the government happen often because he is being held in his home. On Tuesday, police used tear gas and water cannon to clear the main roads in Tirana, the city, of hundreds of protesters.

Elsa Lita, a spokeswoman for the Special Court for Corruption and Organized Crime, told Reuters, “The court ruled to take away Sali Berisha’s house arrest.”

After the fall of communism in Albania in 1997, Berisha was president from 1992 to 1997. From 2005 to 2013, he was prime minister.

The US banned Berisha from visiting the country in 2021, saying he had done “corrupt acts” like stealing public funds and abusing his power to help family members get rich.