Albania's Special Court of Appeal Against Corruption and Organized Crime (GJKKO) has upheld the 28-year prison sentence of Ilir Selmani, who was convicted as a member of the criminal group responsible for the killing of former police officer Santiago Malko.

Selmani did not appear at the appeal hearing. Following the court's decision, he is expected to be transferred from house arrest to a high-security prison to serve his sentence.

The case was returned to the Special Court of Appeal by Albania's Supreme Court for reconsideration. Selmani had recently been released from pretrial detention and placed under house arrest after the legal time limits for detention pending trial were exceeded.

Selmani was found guilty of participating in the fatal shooting of Santiago Malko, one of Albania's most high-profile organized crime cases, which took place in August 2019.

The ruling comes days after police arrested Emiljano Nina near Selmani's residence while allegedly carrying a firearm. Nina is considered a close associate of the missing gambling figure Ervis Martinaj. The incident prompted investigators to examine whether a retaliatory attack against Selmani was being planned.

Malko, a former police officer, was killed in a hail of gunfire in Tirana's Xhamlliku neighborhood on August 27, 2019.