3 ex-ministers to testify at Gerdec trial

TIRANA, Nov. 24 – Fatmir Mediu, ex-defense minister and now environment minister, Aldo Bumci and Enkelejd Alibeaj, both ex-justice ministers and now lawmakers, will give their testimony at the trial of the Gerdec blast last year at an ammunition disposal factory which killed 26 persons, injured 300 and damaged or destroyed thousands of houses and other buildings.
The Tirana District Court is holding the trial on abuse of post and mass murder for 28 Defense Ministry and army officials, including the owner and manager of the private disposal factory company.
Mediu was also among them until September when the Supreme Court decided the case against him should stop as he had regained the lawmaker’s immunity following the June election this year.
But it was the lawyers of some of the defendants who had asked the court that Mediu and two other senior officials should also give their testimony, considered as very important persons involved in the case.
The judge accepted their request.
The first testimony will come from the mother of a killed 6-year old child, to follow with some 300 others.