Albania's president denounces US sanction of former leader
ABC News
Albania’s president has offered public support to a former prime minister who was sanctioned by the United States this week for corruption
TIRANA, Albania -- Albania's president offered public support Saturday to a former prime minister who was sanctioned by the United States this week for corruption. President Ilir Meta made public a letter to former Prime Minister Sali Berisha that described the sanctioning of the politician as a “shameful, unfaithful and nasty act” prompted by anti-Albanian lobbying. U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Wednesday that Berisha and his immediate family were barred from entering the United States. Blinken accused Berisha, who served as Albania's prime minister from 2005 until 2013, of being “involved in corrupt acts...including using his power for his own benefit and to enrich his political allies and his family members." Blinken also alleged that while in office Berisha interfered in the judiciary “at the expense of independent investigations, anticorruption efforts, and accountability measures.”
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