Blush referred to local media images showing masked police officers stopping a car, removing Mehta, who appeared to be resisting, before escorting him to a police special forces van.
Asked whether there would be protests following the arrests, Blush said: “This government will pay a price on every street and in every square.”
According to local media, Mehta was charged with corruption, money laundering and concealing assets. This arrest follows the orders of the Special Prosecutor for Corruption and Corruption (SPAK).
Mehta, 55, served as president from 2017 to 2022 and previously served as prime minister and speaker of parliament. He became president with the support of Prime Minister Edi Rama’s ruling Socialist Party.
However, relations between Mehta and Rama subsequently soured as the Socialist Party attempted to oust him twice during his term as president. Once in 2019 for refusing to call local elections following a boycott by the opposition, and again in 2021 for interfering with general elections.
Mehta is not the only opposition politician to face criminal charges.
Last month, Democratic Party leader Sali Berisha was charged with corruption for his actions as prime minister. Berisha also denies wrongdoing.
The largest opposition party, the Democratic Party, accused Rama of encouraging the prosecution of party members, an accusation he denied. On September 30, Berisha’s supporters set fire to chairs outside parliament to protest the sentencing of another party colleague, Ervin Salianji, to one year in prison for making false reports.
