The Saranda Court decided today to keep in prison Sokrat Vata, the 29-year-old accused of the murder of Portuguese tourist Luis Miguel Varela Mendes in Ksamil.
Before the jury, Vata claimed that he stabbed the victim in self-defense.
According to his testimony, the conflict started in a bar where a group of French tourists were. Vata stated that the tourists were making noise and that one of his friends asked them to remain quiet.
According to the version presented by him in court, the tourists continued to curse and then the situation escalated into a physical fight.
Vata claimed that during the conflict one of the tourists had a knife. According to him, he managed to take the knife from him after neutralizing it.
But, according to his testimony, at that moment one of the tourists kicked him in the jaw, knocking him to the ground.
Vata stated that, as the tourists were trying to hit him again, he instinctively moved his hand to protect himself, but he does not remember how he hit the victim.
"I don't remember how I hit him. I was in shock. I didn't know if any of them were injured, as there were many of them. I was overcome with shock," Vata declared before the court.
The testimony of the Turk Nuh Mahmutoglu
Turkish citizen Nuh Mahmutoglu, who knew Vata due to his cooperation in escorting tourists, also testified in the courtroom.
Mahmutoglu stated that Vata called him around 6:30 a.m. and asked him to accompany him to Tirana. According to him, Vata told him that he had fallen off his motorbike.
The other people detained in connection with the incident also denied the charges before the court. They stated that they did not see the moment of the fight and had no direct knowledge of how the fatal blow occurred.
At the end of the session, the Saranda Court imposed the security measure "prison arrest" for Sokrat Vata. The same measure has also been imposed on Ezgi Parlak and Nuh Mahmutoglu, two Turkish citizens who, according to investigations, attempted to drive Vata away after the incident.
Waiters Ildi Cekani and Ardit Kasemi have been sentenced to 45 days in prison.
Meanwhile, for Luciano Seferi, Moisi Matushaj, Romeo Shehu, Murat Zhabina and Kristo Kosho, the court has imposed the security measure "obligation to report to the judicial police". /LAPSI.al
