Tirana, Oct 23 (IANS): Ilir Meta, leader of the Albanian Freedom Party and former President of Albania, was arrested on charges of corruption, money laundering, and other offenses.

The arrest order was issued by the Special Prosecutor against Corruption (SPAK), Albania's anti-corruption agency.

According to local media reports, Meta was detained by police officers while returning from Kosovo and en route to a scheduled press conference.

Tedi Blushi, the Freedom Party's general secretary, condemned the arrest, describing it as a "criminal kidnapping" and a "terrorist act," claiming no formal warrant had been issued for Meta's arrest, Xinhua news agency reported.

Ilir Rexhep Meta, born on March 24,1969, is an Albanian politician. He served as the president of Albania from 24 July 2017 to 24 July 2022.

Previously Meta served as Prime Minister from 1999 to 2002 and he was Speaker of the Parliament of Albania from 2013 to 2017. He also held positions as Deputy Prime Minister, Minister for Europe and Foreign Affairs and Minister of Economy, Trade, and Energy. Prior to that, he held the Chairmanship of the Parliamentary Commission of European Integration. He founded the Socialist Movement for Integration in 2004.

On 28 April 2017, Meta was elected President of Albania, receiving 87 votes from the 140 Members of Parliament. On 9 June 2021, he was formally impeached by the Albanian parliament in a 104 to 7 vote making him the first Albanian president in history to be impeached by parliament.

On 16 February 2022 the Constitutional Court of Albania overturned the impeachment and ruled that the accusations against him did not violate the constitution.