A court in Albania today ordered the former president and prime minister to be placed under house arrest Sali Berisha following accusations against him of corruption during his time in power. Prosecutors accuse 79-year-old Berisha of using his influence when he was prime minister from 2005 to 2009 to favor his daughter’s husband during the privatization of state-owned land. Berisha denies the accusations.

Berisha leads it Democratic Partyof the largest Albanian opposition.

“The court accepted the prosecution’s request by changing a previous measure and now ordered (Berisha) to be placed under house arrest without the possibility of leaving the country,” Berisha’s lawyer Cenk Giokutai said after the court’s decision.

Giokutai said Berisha will appeal the decision. The former prime minister denies the prosecution’s allegations and accuses current prime minister Edi Rama of waging a political attack to silence the opposition.

The prosecution has not yet presented the final indictment.

Berisha was president from 1992 to 1997, after the fall of communism in this impoverished southwestern Balkan country, and prime minister from 2005 to 2013.

In 2021, the US barred Berisha and his family from entering, with the State Department accusing him of engaging in “acts of corruption” when he was prime minister that included using his power for personal gain and enrichment his relatives and political allies.

Berisha denied the accusations.