Icelandic police hand Sterkaj over to Albanian authorities

Angjelin Sterkaj, who was recently granted parole in Iceland and sent to Albania, was handed over to Albanian authorities by the National Police Commissioner’s return and escort division, mbl.is reports.

Sterkaj has also been reported to have received a five-year prison sentence in Albania for a violent robbery. The Albanian news outlet Ora News reported this in 2021.

It has not been confirmed whether the sentence remains enforceable or whether Sterkaj was wanted in Albania when he was handed over. Albanian criminal law includes provisions on the limitation of prison sentences, and sentences of five years or less can become time-barred if certain conditions are met.

It is not known when, or whether, the sentence against Sterkaj became final. The National Police Commissioner’s office therefore cannot confirm whether it has expired, and says it has no information about Sterkaj’s legal status in Albania.

“He is not wanted according to international systems, but the Albanian authorities must provide information about any domestic wanted notice,” the office said in response to an inquiry from mbl.is.

Ora News reported in March 2021, shortly after the killing in Rauðagerði, that Sterkaj was known to Albanian police. The report said he was wanted over a violent robbery and had received a five-year prison sentence in Albania. Other Albanian media reported at the time that he was wanted in connection with a robbery.

Earlier Albanian media reports also linked Sterkaj to a 2012 case in which he and two other people were accused of using violence and coercion against a 62-year-old man in connection with a financial claim and a car.

Albanian authorities previously requested Sterkaj’s extradition from Iceland in 2015 in connection with a robbery case. The request was rejected in 2017. It has not been conclusively established whether the request concerned the same case covered by Ora News.

Sterkaj was sentenced to 16 years in prison in Iceland for killing Armando Beqirai outside his home in Rauðagerði in February 2021. He was recently granted parole after serving about five years and sent to Albania under a ban on returning to Iceland.

It is not known whether Albanian authorities took further action against Sterkaj after Icelandic authorities handed him over.