Certificate Of Martyr Of The Homeland.

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This is a Certificate Of Martyr Of The Homeland, a Certificate issued by the Central Commission Of The Status "Martyr Of The Homeland". They are issued to the families of recognised Martyrs to be used to obtain various benefits.

This was assigned on 12th March 2003 to the family of Rakip Nazif Kryeziu. The story of Kryeziu's martyring is not the usual case of falling in battle.

Enver Hoxha grew up with his two year older cousin-once-removed, Abaz Omari (Enver's father's brother's daughter's son). They went to school together and even studied overseas together. Abaz seemed to have slightly better luck than Enver when it came to surviving financial crises and often had to help Enver out. In 1939 Abaz started work as a lawyer for the Ministry Of Finance in Fier and also joined an anti-Italian resistance group of Social-Democrats. The resistance group ran their own newspaper and were at various times associated with the National Anti-Fascist Liberation Movement (later renamed the Party Of Labour) to a greater or lesser extent.

As Omari's group were only Social-Democrats and not full blown Stalinists, they fell out of favour with Enva Hoxha and in September 1943 he ordered his cousin's assassination. Rakip Kryeziu (leader of the Fier Hoxhaist Partisan Brigade) was hand picked by Hoxha for the task. Kryeziu wanted to take out the unsuspecting Abaz Omari in his home whilst he was alone, so Kryeziu made the mistake of telling two other resistance members not to attend Omari's house on the night in question, also threatening them both with death if they told anyone anything. One of the men who was told to stay clear had greater loyalty to Omari and got word of the planned attempt on his life. Kryeziu was sprung and hid in a local house. When a task force of resistance fighters loyal to the Social-Democratic cause rallied at the hideaway, Kryeziu was killed in a very short stand-off.
Omari was finally arrested by Communist forces in late 1944 in Shijak, whilst trying to rally Partisans that were fleeing Communist rule to continue to fight against the Communists. He was court-martialled in Berat and sentenced to death on 7th June 1945. Omari was executed by firing squad, along with about 500 others, a few days later. The 500 "traitors" were buried in a mass grave, with the exception of Omari's head. Hoxha sent a telegram instructing that he was to be decapitated after his execution. Omari's head was severed with an axe and buried a distance away from the mass grave as personally instructed by his cousin.