Koçi Xoxe and the Shkodra Operation in the Documents of His Criminal Trial

After the establishment of the communist regime in November 1944, Shkodra became one of the areas where political repression took particularly severe forms, involving arrests, interrogations, trials, executions, and the continuous surveillance and pursuit of political opponents and groups regarded as hostile by the regime. At different times, repression also extended to the clergy, families, and individuals suspected of anti-regime activities, as well as to those attempting to cross the border. In the early years of the regime, repression included extensive operations in Kelmend and the suppression of the armed resistance in Postribë. During the period 1945–1948, contemporary documentation records a large number of groups and individuals considered by the authorities to be opponents of the regime. Some were arrested and sentenced to imprisonment or death, while other cases involved killings during attempts to flee the country or at the border.