A Scots charity worker who claims he was wrongly jailed for child abuse in Albania is to be released this week after 13 years.
David Brown’s alleged victims admitted four years ago they had been forced to fabricate evidence against him.
But a judge refused his application for parole in 2019 and Brown’s lawyer Gjystina Golloshi says he finally be released on Friday.
She said the 69-year-old from Edinburgh still wants to have his name cleared in Albania and an appeal process is ongoing.
Brown was sentenced in 2008 to 20 years for the abuse of boys at the His Children orphanage in Tirana.
Two of his accusers later claimed police and a psychologist pressured them into making false statements.
The Sunday Mail reported in 2017 they were ready to admit their original lies in court.
He was then expected to be released in 2019 when his application for freedom was supported by prison officials.
But his hopes were dashed when a judge in Tirana refused his parole plea on grounds he “does not admit the crime for which he has been sentenced and, for that reason, he doesn’t show repentance”.
Ms Golloshi says once released, Brown will be considered to have served his sentence, with the appeal referred to the highest court of Albania.
The appeal focuses on the statements of the two boys who say Brown did not abuse them.
