Man wanted for murder in his home country of Albania wins the right to remain in the UK under the ECHR – despite being sentenced to 13 years in prison for allegedly shooting a man in the head

An Albanian man wanted for murder has won the right to remain in Britain under the European Convention on Human Rights.

Fatmir Bleta, 64, was sentenced to 13 prison terms after leaving Albania – where he allegedly shot a man in the head with a Kalashnikov rifle.

He left his home country to travel to the United Kingdom in 1998 and sought asylum by falsely claiming to be Kosovar, for which he was subsequently imprisoned for 33 months and two weeks.

Bleta obtained British citizenship in 2017 but was convicted of making a false declaration to obtain a passport the following year, along with three other dishonesty charges.

Documents seen by the Telegraph reveal that Bleta resisted extradition efforts arguing that his return to Albania would violate his right to a fair trial, guaranteed by Article 6 of the ECHR.

According to court documents, Bleta was working as a reservoir guard in Albania in September 1998 when he and his colleague were approached by a man they recognized.

Bleta then allegedly pointed a Kalashnikov rifle at the victim, despite his colleague telling him not to play with the weapon.

The documents add that his colleague witnessed him pulling the trigger and shooting him in the head.

After serving his prison sentence in 2018, the Home Office attempted to deport him, but it was argued that this would violate his family rights as it would be “unduly harsh” on his wife and four children, who joined him in the United Kingdom in 2000, under Article 8 of the ECHR.

It was also revealed that two of Bleta's sons were convicted and imprisoned for drug offenses.

Daughter Sara, 28, a former actress, was jailed for four years for supplying class A and B drugs, while son Dorian, 37, is serving an 18-year prison sentence for cocaine trafficking.

British courts have now rejected an extradition request from Albania, arguing that he was never detained and that there was no evidence that he knew the date and place of his trial.

The judges accepted that there were “sufficient” guarantees that Bleta would receive a new trial and that his return to Albania would violate his rights to a fair trial.

It was agreed by two judges in final high court proceedings in September that Bleta had not deliberately 'absented' himself from Albania to avoid trial and that he would not have access to a retrial.

The Home Office's deportation appeal was therefore rejected by the judges because they stated that there was a “real risk that the applicant's return would represent a flagrant breach of Article 6 of the ECHR”.

At his home in west London, Bleta said he is “clean of everything”.

'In the courts, in both courts, I am clear. You are wrong, you check. Clean up here, clean up Albania, everything,' he said.

His daughter said: 'The facts are completely wrong. My father was cleared for this [the murder].

'He was guilty of this and it came out, if you actually look at the paperwork and the documentation, which I can send you, he was cleared of this.'

A Home Office spokesperson said: “It would be inappropriate to comment while legal proceedings are ongoing.”

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