Tirana | 14 September 2009 | Besar Likmeta
Fatmir Mediu
Fatmir Mediu
On Monday, Albania’s Supreme Court will reopen the case against environment minister designate Fatmir Mediu, indicted in connection with a deadly blast at a munitions depot in March 2008.
The Supreme Court panel is reviewing charges against Mediu of abuse of power, relating to his tenure as defence minister in the previous government.
The explosion at a Gerdec munitions depot on March 15, 2008, killed 26 people, injured over 300 and left over 3,000 homeless.
General Prosecutor Ina Rama filed cases with the Supreme Court in March, indicting 29 people for their actions in relation to the explosion, among them former senior Defence Ministry officials. The charges range from abuse of power to murder.
The cases against all the other defendants were sent to the Tirana District Court.
Amongst those indicted are former chief of staff Luan Hoxha, General Shpetim Spahiu and General Zija Bahja. All have denied any wrongdoing. If convicted, they face up to seven years in prison.
Both Mediu's Supreme Court trial and those of the defendants facing charges before theTirana District Court have been delayed repeatedly.
The government estimates that the explosion caused more than 20 million euros in damage to the surrounding area. The emergency services say that 400 houses were totally destroyed, 188 were severely damaged, 200 sustained major damage and 1,600 others were slightly damaged.
The explosions began as workers were moving stocks of old Chinese and Soviet shells stored at the base, once a central collection point for the arsenal amassed by the communist-era dictatorship of Enver Hoxha. Albania had been trying for years to dismantle the obsolete arsenal, which was one of the conditions for the country’s subsequent entry into NATO.
Die Angeklagten fühlen sich auf Original Albanische alle unschuldig wie kleine Kinder. Verantwortlich ist auf alle Fälle, ein Albanischer Manager, für Munition Demontage und nicht irgendein Ausländer, der nicht greifbar ist.
AntwortenLöschenAlbaner sind inklusive des Premier Ministers, für ihre ständige nicht Verantwortung, berüchtigt! Am liebsten gibt man Non-Stop “Garantie”, aber für was haben die noch nie begriffen. “Garantie” ist so ein Schlagwort, wie “Hallo”, bei den Albanern, was vom PM gerade in der Schnee Kathastrophe erneut verbreitet wird.
Delijorgji: Patrick Henry is responsible
20/02/2012
Delijorgji: Patrick Henry is responsible
“The last defendant for the Gerdeci tragedy, the co-administrator of the “Albademil” society, Mihal Delijorgji, presented his defense at court with a voluminous material that contained dozens of documents, starting from the creation of “Albademil” and to its contracts with the US Company “SAC”.
The defendant lawyer, Gezim Veleshnja, declared that Patrick Henry had asked the dismantling of ammunition, not only through documents but also with his presence at the Defense Ministry.
Patric Henry has held official relations with the Administration of the Defense Ministry and its structures during this activity, and the prosecution’s intimation that Delijorgji has influenced the decision-making is contradictory to the documents administered in the trial.
“Patric Henry created an Albanian society, ‘Albademil’, which was to be managed by two administers with separate duties and responsibilities”, the defending lawyer declared.
Patric Henry would cover the demilitarization area and transport, while Delijorgji only the financing area. According to the written contract, the Ministry of Defense undertook to choose the dismantling site, the ammunition transportation and the process security, while SAC, through Albademil, would prepare the site and organize the work and recruiting.
The defending lawyer argued that the Prosecution charges are unfounded and tendentious, and for this, he demanded the suspension of the case.
According to the lawyer, the Prosecution should take in consideration a document signed by the General Chief of State Police, Agron Kulicaj, who says that 30 minutes before the explosion, SAC representatives have installed a camera and filmed the site.
Insisting that the Gerdec explosion did not happen due to the negligence of the workers, but due to the political background plans against Albania, the lawyer insisted that the US expertise also has a relative way of speaking about the causes of the fire.
Lawyer Gezim Veleshnja declared that the Albanian laws have not been implemented. He referred to a fresh case that apparently will return in a precedent: the decision of the Supreme Court Penal College, which declared as invalid the expertise held for the Meta-Prifti video by the US expert, Glen Bart. The defense lawyer says that even the test made by the British Ardian Philips was not according to the procedures.
Even in the Gerdec case, the experts did not take their task according to the Albanian law, and not even according to the laws of their countries. http://www.top-channel.tv/english/artikull.php?id=4826