Genc Leka, a poet, was executed in the place called “Porroi i Firari”. He was born in the village of Bërzeshte of Librazhd, in 1941. He received his first lessons in his native village. Between 1959-1962 he studied at the Pedagogical School of Elbasan. From 1962 to 1966, when he was fired, he worked as a teacher in the remote areas of Librazhd. In the years 1967-1968, he performed military service in a work brigade in Sopot, Librazhdi and Cërrik. After finishing his military service, he worked on a farm and in a forestry enterprise, where he only did manual labor. He was arrested on August 31, 1976, and after eleven months of torture in the Librazhd investigation, he was accused of “sabotage and agitation and propaganda” and on June 13, 1977, he was sentenced to death by firing squad. In 1994, the President of the Republic awarded him the “Martyr of Democracy” decoration. A year later, one of Librazhd’s primary education schools was named after him. This year he was awarded the “Teacher of the People” decoration. In 2010, the President of the Republic awarded him the “Honour of the Nation” decoration. (In the photo: Genc Leka)
Text: Bedri Blloshmi, Confessions from communist hell , “Almera”, Tirana, 2011, pages 287-288.
Photo: © Albanian Telegraphic Agency
Graphic processing: AHCF
