photographed in his appartment in Tirana

Born on March 15, 1934, in Tirana, Tanush Kaso graduated from the Pedagogical School in Tirana and worked as a teacher in villages around the capital and in Peshkopi. On May 27, 1961, while in his third year of correspondence studies at the Faculty of Language and Literature, he was arrested for alleged involvement in a group opposing the regime, which aimed to establish a social-democratic party. On August 11, 1962, the Tirana Military Court sentenced him to 13 years in prison for “treason against the homeland,” “agitation and propaganda,” as well as confiscation of property and loss of electoral rights for three years. Kaso served 10 years, 3 months, and 3 days in several notorious prisons, including Burrel, Laç, Fushë- Krujë, Elbasan, Spaç, and Skrofotinë, before being released on August 30, 1971. After his release, he was forced to do hard labor.

Following the fall of the communist regime, Kaso became an active writer and publicist, publishing numerous articles and works, including Lufta ime: Vargje të shkruara në errësirën e kuqe (My Struggle: Poems Written in the Red Darkness, 1994) and Kalvari i burgjeve komuniste (The Calvary of Communist Prisons, 1998). He also dedicated himself to the cause of former political prisoners, serving as chairman of one of their associations.