In Tirana, the “first group of deputies” was executed, anti-communist deputies in the first parliament of communist Albania, who came out openly and organized in defense of the principles of Western democracy and undertook to form the opposition in the parliament. The intellectual and organizational skills, very soon clashed with the efforts of the dictatorship, which had begun to be installed little by little. The opposition was persecuted until they were arrested. Their attitude to stop the communist revenge, cost the lives of 16 deputies who had been able to enter the parliament. The trial of the group of deputies began and ended as a completely staged trial, based on evidence obtained from the defendants through unprecedented physical and psychological violence during the investigation. The Military Court, under the direct orders of Enver Hoxha, ordered the execution of 16 defendants of that process and severe punishments for dozens of others from different districts, who were accused of connection and cooperation with the group of deputies. By means of this process, which was described by the witnesses of the time as the end of the farce, Enver Hoxha intended to subjugate and annihilate the real democratic opposition, putting an end to the expression of free thought. Rampant propaganda presented them to the people as enemies who had collaborated with criminals and foreign agencies. With these sensational trials, the communist dictatorship aimed to extinguish forever any hope or attempt for democracy and pluralism among Albanians. (Pictured: The Trial of the Group of Deputies, 1947.)
Text: https://ata.gov.al/2022/10/10/75-vjetori-i-ekzekutimit-te-grupit-te-deputeteve/
Photo: © Albanian Telegraphic Agency
Graphic processing: AHCF
