PS MP Jurgis Çyrbja: police secrets passed to a wanted man in exchange for votes
Status: Convicted at first instance; upheld on appeal (24 April 2026). Sentence: 3 years reduced to 2 by the shortened trial. Released February 2026.
Summary
SPAK charged Socialist Party MP Jurgis Çyrbja (Durrës) with passing secret State Police information to Altin Hajri, the owner of a hotel complex in Shijak who was wanted for the January 2020 abduction and disappearance of Jan Prenga, in exchange for Hajri's help in securing votes. According to SPAK, there were 8 episodes between May 2020 and March 2021, communicated over the encrypted Sky ECC and Matrix apps, including access to the police TIMS database and warnings about police operations.
Çyrbja resigned his seat in October 2024, a day after being questioned by SPAK, and was arrested in Durrës on 20 October 2024. Hajri was not found and is wanted internationally. The Special Court convicted Çyrbja, Hajri and a relative of Çyrbja's family in a shortened trial; the appeal court upheld the ruling on 24 April 2026. Çyrbja had already left prison in February 2026 after serving the reduced sentence.
Shqiptarja reported that Çyrbja had been placed on a safe PS candidate list. The reports reviewed do not show who in the party approved his candidacy.
Key facts
- Arrested 20 October 2024 in Durrës on a SPAK order; resigned his MP seat on 9 or 10 October 2024 (sources differ).
- Charges: trading in state secrets, supporting a perpetrator of crime, active electoral corruption.
- 8 episodes between 1 May 2020 and 8 March 2021 according to SPAK, over Sky ECC and Matrix.
- Co-defendant Altin Hajri was wanted from about 2020 over the abduction and disappearance of Jan Prenga and was not found.
- GJKKO Appeal Court upheld the conviction on 24 April 2026; Çyrbja was released in February 2026 after serving 2 years, including pre-trial detention.
The record
Four lists kept apart on purpose: what is established, what is only alleged, what is still open, and what those concerned said.
What is proven (1)
Established by documents or official records, as stated in the research. A recorded charge or indictment proves only that the accusation was made.
- The Special Court convicted Çyrbja of trading state secrets, supporting a perpetrator of crime and active electoral corruption; the appeal court upheld the ruling on 24 April 2026.
What is alleged (1)
Accusations, not findings. Those accused are presumed innocent.
- AllegationThat his place on the PS candidate list was influenced by people linked to crime (reported by Shqiptarja; not established in court in the sources reviewed).
Allegations and who made them (1)
Each line is an allegation as recorded, with the person or body that made it where the record names them.
- AllegationSPAK alleged that Çyrbja promised to use his influence with law-enforcement agencies in exchange for electoral support (Shqiptarja, 2024–2026).
Open questions (4)
- Who in the Socialist Party approved his candidacy, and did the party know of his contacts?
- Which police officers gave him access to the TIMS database, and were they charged?
- What happened to the separate abuse-of-office proceeding from his time at the Durrës mortgage office?
- The sentences reported for the co-defendants differ between articles; the court's written decision was not reviewed.
Responses (1)
Responses of the people and organisations concerned, as recorded.
- Defence lawyer Ilir Murati: there is no evidence for the acts charged (Shqiptarja, November 2025).
Timeline
Full timeline →SPAK
Former PS MP Jurgis Çyrbja arrested in Durrës on a SPAK order
Charged with trading state secrets, supporting a perpetrator of crime and active electoral corruption; he had resigned his seat days earlier.
Court
Appeal court upholds the conviction of former PS MP Jurgis Çyrbja
The GJKKO Appeal Court left in force the 2-year sentence (after the shortened-trial reduction); he had been released in February 2026.
Hypotheses
Possible explanations that connect this record with other findings. They are not findings; each lists the evidence for and against.
- Source label: Unverified
Electoral support is traded for protection and favours
Courts have now confirmed cases where votes were bought for the Socialist Party (Kurbin, 2025) and where a Socialist MP leaked police secrets to a wanted man who helped him win votes (Jurgis Çyrbja). The 2016 Dibra recordings and the 2025 OSCE findings on vote buying and links to crime point the same way. The pattern suggests that some candidates rely on people who expect protection in return.
Evidence for
- Appeal court upheld Jurgis Çyrbja's conviction for electoral corruption and passing police secrets (24 April 2026).
- Special Court convicted three people of buying votes for the PS in Kurbin (5 February 2026).
- OSCE/ODIHR reported vote buying and party links to crime in the 2025 election.
Evidence against
- No court has found that party leaders organised these acts.
- Opposition candidates have also been convicted of vote buying.
- The Dibra 2016 file was largely time-barred and never tried.
- Source label: Unverified
Votes in exchange for protection: some PS candidates may have relied on people linked to crime for electoral support
In the Çyrbja case a court found that a sitting PS MP leaked police secrets to a wanted man who helped him get votes. Together with OSCE observers' reports of vote buying and party links to crime in the 2025 election, the Kurbin vote-buying conviction, and earlier cases already in the archive, this suggests a pattern where electoral support is traded for protection or favours. Whether it is a party practice or the conduct of individuals is not established.
Evidence for
- Court-confirmed conviction of PS MP Jurgis Çyrbja for electoral corruption combined with leaking police secrets (2025–2026).
- First-instance conviction for buying votes for the PS in Kurbin in the 2025 campaign (February 2026).
- OSCE/ODIHR reported vote buying and party links to crime in the 2025 election (already recorded in the archive).
Evidence against
- No court has found that the party leadership organised or knew of these acts.
- The Kurbin defendants are private individuals; no candidate was named.
- Opposition candidates have also been convicted of vote buying (e.g. Himarë, Rrogozhinë), so the practice is not limited to one party.
Sources for this record
Every source the research cites for this record, grouped by its source label. 4 sources.
Source label: VerifiedVerified · 4 sources
- Publisher
- Shqiptarja
- Date
- 24 Apr 2026
- Publisher
- Shqiptarja
- Date
- 3 Nov 2025
- Publisher
- Shqiptarja
- Date
- 3 Oct 2025
- Publisher
- Shqiptarja
- Date
- 21 Oct 2024