of Nano and declare that Nano’s conviction had
been politically motivated. Sina believed that he was be-
ing targeted by Nano’s supporters because he had been
close to Judge Bendo and was a trustworthy member of
the Democratic Party. The men wore civilian clothing
and did not show official identification but Sina believed
that they were police officers due to the fact that their
vehicle had official license plates. He refused to cooperate
with the two men and the men responded by threaten-
ing that he would lose his job. The two men returned a
second time in an attempt to persuade Sina to cooperate
but again he refused.
  Sina testified that he was physically attacked by police
when he attended a Democratic Party rally of approxi-
mately 30,000 people in August 1998. He spent one week
in the hospital recoveringfrom the beating. The two men
came to the hospital threatening that he would be detained
or killed if he did not go to court on behalf of Nano. Sina
was fired from his job in October 1998, and the two men
again appeared trying to pressure Sina to cooperate. At
No. 05-2755                                                3

this point, Sina went into hiding in Albania and then he
came to the United States on December 31, 1998. Sina
believes that he will be killed if he returns to Albania. His
father was killed