Source note: this article recounts allegations and statements made during a 1985 trial. Personal accusations and quoted insults are part of that record and are not findings independently established by the editorial team.
In the Gjirokastra courtroom, a woman accuses the Party, the investigation and the justice system. The downfall of a cadre and an unpleasant testimony for the system
GJIROKASTĂR, JUNE 1985 — In a crowded courtroom, where witnesses, investigators, judges and senior Party cadres had taken their seats in tense silence, Afesa Lula , former director of the Gjirokastër Clothing Manufacturing Enterprise, was accused of abuse of office, embezzlement of socialist property and violation of laws on currency and gold .
But what happened in the courtroom went beyond the confines of a criminal trial: a direct account of institutional violence, fear, and a public revolt within the system .
🎭 The confession that shocked the hall: “They turned me into a corpse…”
“The investigating officers took advantage of me in the most difficult moments. They told me: ‘What will you do now, they arrested your husband, they will take your children too…'” – Afesa declared before the panel of judges headed by Fatmira Leskaj , a member of the Supreme Court.
She told how she had been put in a dungeon by provocateurs, and that her admission of guilt had come after severe physical and psychological torture . When she started talking, she would not stop. She pointed the finger of accusation everywhere: at the Party Committee, the investigation, the court, and especially at the chairman of the district Executive Committee, Nedin Hoxha , who, according to her, had ordered the arrest for personal revenge.
⚖️ From knitwear, to dollars and children’s pants
The investigations included a long list of episodes that included:
- Abuse of office : changing product prices without authorization and ordering knitwear products for specific clients.
- Violation of foreign exchange provisions : for several small transactions in US dollars (17, 15 and 50 USD).
- Embezzlement : through the provision of knitwear in exchange for payment outside the official system – for a total of 2,576 lek , a symbolic amount, but with serious consequences at the time.
👥 From ministers to drivers – who held them accountable?
Dozens of witnesses appear in the file: from Esma Ulqinaku , deputy minister, to Marjeta Stavre , director at the ministry, to ordinary employees like Ibrahim Çela , driver, or storekeeper Nazire Maledhi .
Afesa denied most of the accusations, but insisted on confronting each of them, because – as she said – “ much of this evidence was fabricated out of fear or order .”
🧠 “I wasn’t a pricing specialist. There were others for this job!”
In an attempt to explain herself, Afesa revealed that she had requested several times to replace storekeeper Nazire Maledhi, whom she suspected of misconduct. But the requests, although written, had remained unanswered.
She claimed that she had not been competent for many of the actions attributed to her and that there had been appropriate specialists who should have overseen financial matters and production rates.
🔥 “You are a loose woman, all of Tirana knows you!”
In a dramatic moment of the trial, during the confrontation with Marjeta Stavre, Afesa exploded into personal accusations:
“You are a loose woman! All of Tirana knows you!”
The same style was followed towards other witnesses, such as Shero Bakiri , a member of the Executive Committee, and others who had accused her of custom-made knitwear. Even Afesa’s daughter, Lindita Lula , a student at the Faculty of Foreign Languages, stood up at the end of the trial and shouted:
“Hold on, Shote Galica!”
🚨 The trial ends, but the system is shaken
The court sentenced Afesa Lulo to 1 year in prison . But the trial highlighted cracks in the judicial system , the investigators, and especially in the popular perception of socialist justice .
The General Investigation and the General Prosecutor’s Office, in their internal reports, expressed dissatisfaction with the way the hearing was managed , the excessive tolerance towards Afesa’s accusations and the negative impact it had on public opinion.
🧩 The end of a career – the beginning of a great doubt
The case of Afesa Lulo remains a symbol of internal doubts, ideological contradictions, and institutional abuses in the final years of the communist regime .
It was a process where justice tried to maintain form, but reality exploded like lightning – out of anger, fear, and accusations that could no longer be silenced.
