New Charges Brought Against Former Albanian President

Albania’s former president was back in jail Saturday, this time on charges he deported political opponents to labor camps and had people caught fleeing the country killed.

Prosecutors said Ramiz Alia also is accused in the deaths of four protesters shot.

Anti-communist sentiment is still high in Albania, which suffered under Enver Hoxha, who ruled from 1944 until his death in 1985.

As Hoxha’s successor, Alia presided over a relaxation of the totalitarian system in 1990 and 1991, which culminated in the Democratic Party’s election to power in 1992.

Alia was convicted in May 1994 of violating citizens’ rights and sentenced to nine years in prison. After passage of a new penal code he was freed on July 7.