Tahir Demi
Encyclopedia
Tahir Demi was an Albanian
politician. He was high-ranking member of the Party of Labour of Albania and representantive of Albania
at Comecon
. In 1960 he was arrested and sentenced to death in 1961 for being a member of a pro-Soviet group, led by Rear Admiral Teme Sejko
, that had been planning a coup d'état
against Enver Hoxha
.
, modern northwestern Greece
(Chameria
) in 1919. In the 1930s he studied at the faculty of law of the University of Tirana
. In 1943 he joined the National Liberation Movement of Albania and became a member of the Party of Labour of Albania. After World War II
he became chairman of the Party of Labour committee of Elbasan District
and Albania's delegate at Comecon
.
In July 1960 he was arrested by the Sigurimi
, Albania's secret police, for being part of an alleged joint Greek-Yugoslav-Italian-US Sixth Fleet counterrevolutionary plot to overthrow the Albanian government. He was arrested along with seven military commanders including Teme Sejko
, a Rear Admiral of the Albanian Navy. The other defendants included ex-editor-in-chief of Zëri i Popullit
Taho Sejko and Liri Belishova, chairwoman of the Central Committee of the Party of Labour of Albania. They were tried in May 1961 and convicted. Tahir Demi was sentenced to death and executed after the trial along with three other high-ranking members of the Albanian army and the Party of Labour of Albania, Teme Sejko, Abdyl Resuli and Hajri Mane on 31 May 1961. The four remaining defendants received prison sentences ranging from 15 years to life imprisonment
. According to some sources the executions had arisen because Enver Hoxha
disagreed with the conclusions of a Party conference in Tirana
in 1956.
Albanians
Albanians are a nation and ethnic group native to Albania and neighbouring countries. They speak the Albanian language. More than half of all Albanians live in Albania and Kosovo...
politician. He was high-ranking member of the Party of Labour of Albania and representantive of Albania
Albania
Albania , officially known as the Republic of Albania , is a country in Southeastern Europe, in the Balkans region. It is bordered by Montenegro to the northwest, Kosovo to the northeast, the Republic of Macedonia to the east and Greece to the south and southeast. It has a coast on the Adriatic Sea...
at Comecon
Comecon
The Council for Mutual Economic Assistance , 1949–1991, was an economic organisation under hegemony of Soviet Union comprising the countries of the Eastern Bloc along with a number of communist states elsewhere in the world...
. In 1960 he was arrested and sentenced to death in 1961 for being a member of a pro-Soviet group, led by Rear Admiral Teme Sejko
Teme Sejko
Teme Sejko was an Albanian rear-admiral and commander of the Albanian navy and the naval base of Durrës. In 1961 he was executed for allegedly being the leader of a pro-Soviet group that had been planning a coup d'état against Enver Hoxha by selling the Albanian navy to the Sixth Fleet.-...
, that had been planning a coup d'état
Coup d'état
A coup d'état state, literally: strike/blow of state)—also known as a coup, putsch, and overthrow—is the sudden, extrajudicial deposition of a government, usually by a small group of the existing state establishment—typically the military—to replace the deposed government with another body; either...
against Enver Hoxha
Enver Hoxha
Enver Halil Hoxha was a Marxist–Leninist revolutionary andthe leader of Albania from the end of World War II until his death in 1985, as the First Secretary of the Party of Labour of Albania...
.
Life
Tahir Demi, a member of the Demi family, was born in FiliatesFiliates
Filiates is a town and a municipality in Thesprotia, Greece. It is located in the northernmost part of the prefecture, bordering western Ioannina Prefecture and southern Albania.-Municipality:...
, modern northwestern Greece
Greece
Greece , officially the Hellenic Republic , and historically Hellas or the Republic of Greece in English, is a country in southeastern Europe....
(Chameria
Chameria
Chameria is a term used today mostly by Albanians for parts of the coastal region of Epirus in southern Albania and northwestern Greece It was also used by Greeks till the mid of 20th century and is frequently found in Greek literature. Today it is obsolete in Greek, surviving mainly in Greek folk...
) in 1919. In the 1930s he studied at the faculty of law of the University of Tirana
University of Tirana
The University of Tirana is a public university located in Tirana, Albania.-History:UT was founded in 1957 as the State University of Tirana through the merging of five existing institutes of higher education, the most important of which was the Institute of Sciences, founded in 1947...
. In 1943 he joined the National Liberation Movement of Albania and became a member of the Party of Labour of Albania. After World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
he became chairman of the Party of Labour committee of Elbasan District
Elbasan District
The District of Elbasan is one of the thirty-six districts of Albania, part of Elbasan County. It has a population of 224,689 , and an area of 1,372 km². It is in the centre of the country, and its capital is Elbasan...
and Albania's delegate at Comecon
Comecon
The Council for Mutual Economic Assistance , 1949–1991, was an economic organisation under hegemony of Soviet Union comprising the countries of the Eastern Bloc along with a number of communist states elsewhere in the world...
.
In July 1960 he was arrested by the Sigurimi
Sigurimi
The Drejtoria e Sigurimit të Shtetit , commonly called the Sigurimi, was the state security, intelligence and secret police service of the Socialist People's Republic of Albania...
, Albania's secret police, for being part of an alleged joint Greek-Yugoslav-Italian-US Sixth Fleet counterrevolutionary plot to overthrow the Albanian government. He was arrested along with seven military commanders including Teme Sejko
Teme Sejko
Teme Sejko was an Albanian rear-admiral and commander of the Albanian navy and the naval base of Durrës. In 1961 he was executed for allegedly being the leader of a pro-Soviet group that had been planning a coup d'état against Enver Hoxha by selling the Albanian navy to the Sixth Fleet.-...
, a Rear Admiral of the Albanian Navy. The other defendants included ex-editor-in-chief of Zëri i Popullit
Zëri i Popullit
Zëri i Popullit is an Albanian daily newspaper that was originally founded on August 25, 1942 as the official newspaper of Albania and was the news and propaganda organ of the Party of Labour. After the Socialist People's Republic of Albania was disbanded in 1992, the paper continued to get...
Taho Sejko and Liri Belishova, chairwoman of the Central Committee of the Party of Labour of Albania. They were tried in May 1961 and convicted. Tahir Demi was sentenced to death and executed after the trial along with three other high-ranking members of the Albanian army and the Party of Labour of Albania, Teme Sejko, Abdyl Resuli and Hajri Mane on 31 May 1961. The four remaining defendants received prison sentences ranging from 15 years to life imprisonment
Life imprisonment
Life imprisonment is a sentence of imprisonment for a serious crime under which the convicted person is to remain in jail for the rest of his or her life...
. According to some sources the executions had arisen because Enver Hoxha
Enver Hoxha
Enver Halil Hoxha was a Marxist–Leninist revolutionary andthe leader of Albania from the end of World War II until his death in 1985, as the First Secretary of the Party of Labour of Albania...
disagreed with the conclusions of a Party conference in Tirana
Tirana
Tirana is the capital and the largest city of Albania. Modern Tirana was founded as an Ottoman town in 1614 by Sulejman Bargjini, a local ruler from Mullet, although the area has been continuously inhabited since antiquity. Tirana became Albania's capital city in 1920 and has a population of over...
in 1956.