Who is Arben Llalla, who pretends to be the “imaginary hero” of the Turco-Albanians and “targets” Greeks of Northern Epirus

Response to the Anti-Hellenic and Anti-Orthodox Pseudohistorian Arben Llalla

By Alexandros Zioulis and Stephanos Mytilineos

The online “bashi-bazouk” Arben Llalla, hiding behind Neo-Ottoman Islamist Turkish institutions, daily targets indigenous Greeks of the Greek National Minority in Albania.

He accuses certain Greeks of being agents of the Israeli Mossad or the Greek National Intelligence Service (EYP), and he is also said to spread claims that they are “men of the United Arab Emirates.”

Why does he do this? Perhaps because Israel and the Emirates are allies of Greece against Neo-Ottomanism.

This particular Facebook scribe and the network of organizations with which he is connected maintain documented relations with the Turkish state, as well as with Neo-Ottoman and Islamist organizations.

For years, he has been applying a well-known method: he fishes for the names and photos of indigenous Greeks from Northern Epirus on social media, distorts their activities, fabricates insinuations about “agents,” “recruitments,” and “anti-Albanians,” and attempts to turn the Greek national and Christian Orthodox identity into incriminating evidence.

This is deliberate public targeting, intimidation, and an attempt at psychological and physical terrorization.

The tactic is always the same: he posts the photo and name of a Northern Epiriote Greek, attaches the label of “Greek agent” or “enemy,” and leaves chauvinistic Ethno-Islamist circles in Albania, Kosovo, and North Macedonia to continue with insults or even physical intimidation.

However, his tracks are public. In his chauvinistic activities in Skopje and Tirana, Arben Llalla appears alongside figures such as Adnan Ismaili, a representative of political Islam and Neo-Ottoman strategy based in Skopje, founder of the Islamic and Turkish book publishing house “Logos-A,” and co-founder of the Centre Foundation of Islamic Civilization (FOCIC).

He operates with Mehdi Gurra, head of the ALSAR foundation, which is funded by the Turkish agency TİKA and other Turkish institutions such as the well-known Humanitarian Relief Foundation (IHH), which maintains links to the Muslim Brotherhood.

In June 2021, in Skopje, North Macedonia, FOCIC, through Vizioni M, organized an anti-Hellenic event about “Chamuria.” From left to right in the image: Adnan Ismaili; Shpëtim Idrizi of the anti-Hellenic political entity PDIU; Sulejman Çerkezi (from Kosovo); Nustret Avdullai (currently associated with Edi Rama); Alket Veliu; the “imaginary hero” Arben Llalla; and next to him, Mehdi Gurra.

Arben Llalla has appeared as a speaker at events organized by Vizioni M and the Balkan Youth School.

Material from Vizioni M displays the logo of the Presidency for Turks Abroad and Related Communities (YTB), an official state institution of the Republic of Türkiye.

Arben Llalla at an anti-Hellenic event funded by the Turkish state agency YTB.

At the same time, ALSAR’s cooperation with TİKA has been made public by the organizations themselves.

Consequently, the interconnections are documented:

Vizioni M – Political Islam – YTBALSAR – IHH – Muslim Brotherhood – TİKA

Within this environment, Arben Llalla attempts to lecture the indigenous Greeks on their identity, their relations with Greece or Cyprus, and how “suspicious” they are considered to be.

Evidence from the FOCIC Archives

FOCIC was founded in Skopje in 2006. Among its founders is Adnan Ismaili, who is also listed as Vice President of the Executive Board.

According to the foundation’s own history, funding for the purchase of its headquarters complex was secured from Qatar and Türkiye, supported by high-ranking Turkish state officials.

FOCIC has also implemented programs with the support of YTB.

There are declared names, institutions, and publicly acknowledged funding from Türkiye and Qatar.

In the Advisory Council list published by FOCIC, alongside dozens of Turkish citizens connected to Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s ruling AKP party, position 14 features İbrahim Kalın of MİT.

FOCIC presented him at the time in his capacity as Chief Foreign Policy Advisor to the Prime Minister of Türkiye.

Today, Kalın heads the National Intelligence Organization of Türkiye (MİT).

In the advisory structure of the Islamist foundation FOCIC, there is a person from the highest echelons of the Erdoğan system, who currently commands the Turkish intelligence services.

Similarly, the Turkified Kurd Hakan Fidan, before heading MİT and subsequently the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, served as the head of TİKA.

These facts document a direct line of continuity connecting the Neo-Ottoman organizations of the Muslim Brotherhood and Albanian-Turkish foundations -the environment in which Arben Llalla operates- with the top levels of Turkish state security.

When an indigenous Northern Epiriote Greek meets with a Greek politician, journalist, or academic, he is targeted as an “agent.

“When he maintains his relationship with Greece or Cyprus, he is targeted as “anti-Albanian.

“When he declares his identity as an indigenous Greek, cyber-bullying is unleashed against him.

Yet, within Arben Llalla’s own environment, activities and collaborations are recorded with entities directly linked to Türkiye:

Vizioni M – YTB – ALSAR – TİKA – FOCIC – Adnan Ismaili – İbrahim Kalın.

Questions Regarding Professional and Financial Activity

Arben Llalla focuses his activity on social media and the press in Albania and North Macedonia to spread anti-Hellenic hatred.

Legitimate questions are therefore raised:

Where has he worked?

What has been his declared professional activity?

From what sources does he secure his income?

Does he pay social security contributions in Tetovo, North Macedonia, where he resides?

Behind Llalla’s anti-Hellenic rhetoric lies the political environment of the “Cham” agenda of Shpëtim Idrizi’s PDIU party, which provides him with political shelter.

However, officials and elected representatives of this specific political space faced Law 138/2015 on Decriminalization in Albania, with consequences leading to forfeiture of parliamentary seats and disqualification from public office due to criminal impediments.

This process was implemented with the support of the US and the European Union, while in several cases, connections to organized crime were recorded.

The Stance of the Greeks of Northern Epirus

The historical Greek presence in Epirus is enduring. Attempts at targeting, intimidation, and digital lynching via social media are met with transparency and hard facts.

The authorities of North Macedonia have repeatedly rejected Llalla’s applications for permanent residence, citing security reasons.

At the same time, he has been banned from entering or receiving a visa from several countries, including the US, Greece, and Germany.

The Islamist Network: ALSAR–IHHALSAR’s activity is not limited to TİKA.

It has developed joint actions with the German/Turkish organization IHH (Humanitarian Relief Foundation) under the guise of humanitarian aid.

According to a report by the Jerusalem Post (October 2025), IHH has been banned in Israel since 2008 and is attributed links to the Muslim Brotherhood, Hamas, and Al-Qaeda.

The report describes it as a GONGO (Government-Organized Non-Governmental Organization), closely tied to the Turkish ruling apparatus.

Furthermore, the US Department of the Treasury has imposed sanctions since 2008 on the Union of Good network -in which IHH participated- as an organization created to fund entities linked to terrorism.

The chain of collaboration is structured as follows: TİKA, ALSAR, IHH.

These facts prove the existence of specific operational links between Turkish state institutions, soft-power entities, and Islamist organizations.

Targeting of Minors and the Claim of Being an “Officer”

Particular concern is raised by a private conversation in which an account under the name Arben Llalla addresses a young individual, referencing personal family details and invoking a “data system.

“In this conversation, the following phrase is stated:

“kam punuar oficer në Selanik 1998–2004” (I worked as an officer in Thessaloniki, 1998–2004).

This fact raises specific questions: What is meant by the use of the term “officer” (oficer)?

An officer of which service does he claim to have been?

In what capacity was he present in Thessaloniki during that specific period?