Mediu abroad, not present to respond to prosecutor’s questions

TIRANA, Aug 26 – Former Defense Minister Fatmir Mediu, leader of the Republican Party and a member of the governing coalition, was not present to be questioned by prosecutors investigating the March 15 blast at the Gerdec ammunition disposal factory which killed 26 and injured 300 persons.
He had been called to the prosecutor general’s office for questioning but his lawyer, Ardian Visha, said he was in the United States on personal business.
The next questioning session was set for September. The parliament lifted Mediu’s immunity in June, giving the prosecutor’s office freedom to investigate or, even, to indict him.
Mediu resigned two days after the Gerdec blast, saying he left office only for moral reasons, denying he had any legal responsibility for the blast.
There have been increasing calls from the opposition to indict him for personally profiting from the business of the sale of ammunition.
Another former Defense Ministry top official, in charge of the export-import company, is in jail and accused of murder along with the owner and a manager of the disposal company.
Mediu is being investigated for abuse of post (the prosecutor’s request to the parliament to lift his immunity) but there has been no charge against him.
The opposition accuses the government and, personally, Prime Minister Sali Berisha of doing their utmost to hamper the investigation of the case.
(Tirana Times Staff)