Albanian Mayor Rules from Prison

Erion Veliaj, the mayor of Tirana, has posted a video on Instagram using AI to depict an avatar of himself addressing citizens. In the video, he announced free school meals for all the capital's children.

Veliaj, 46, is in pre-trial detention facing charges over allegations of corruption and financial crimes. He denies any wrongdoing and has been in prison in Durrës since early 2025.

The video was the first time Veliaj addressed citizens during his time in prison. He remains the mayor and has vowed to continue working from his jail cell.

After his arrest, a snap election was scheduled for November 2025, but was cancelled when a constitutional court ruled that Veliaj could not be dismissed outside the regular democratic processes.

Veliaj had previously delegated various duties to Anula Ristani, his deputy, but last month revoked the order delegating his powers. He is facing a total of 13 charges and has reportedly refused to attend court hearings.

Veliaj is next scheduled to appear in court on October 13. He was once considered a rising star of Albania's Socialist Party and a potential successor to Edi Rama, the prime minister.

This is not the first time an incarcerated politician has used AI to address citizens. In 2023, Imran Khan, the former leader of Pakistan, used an AI deepfake to address voters in an election campaign.