TIRANA, Dec. 6 – The new Prosecutor General Olsian Cela requested on Friday the concrete results of investigations launched into the damage caused by the November 26 earthquake in a large number of apartments in Tirana, Durres and Thumana.
He touched on the issue during his presentation today in office, one day after he was elected by parliament.
“Today we are in a difficult phase, the country is facing a very big crisis because of the events that happened at the end of November. I believe that the answer that the prosecution has to give in this case should be clear about what the institutions are doing, because people are demanding justice, so that concrete things can be finally done in this country,” he said.
Cela said that despite coming as a result of a big disaster, it is a case for institutions to show they are above what the country expects and what people expect.
“This requires maximum commitment. I am convinced that we will find all the right mechanisms and forms to achieve what we need,” he said.
There are over 10,000 homes and affected buildings, while over 1100 have been destroyed. From inspections conducted on over 5100 buildings in Durres, Shijak and Kruja alone, 2200 houses and buildings are uninhabitable and over 320 of them need to be demolished.
The prosecution has launched investigations a few days after the earthquake, in Durres, Tirana and Thumana.
According to official reports, part of the investigations that have been initiated for the offenses of “Duty Abuse”, “Illegal Construction” and “Providing Illegal Construction Assistance” are the building permits issued by local authorities, their implementation by the builders , as well as cases of abusive construction and lack of intervention by the responsible authorities.
The prosecution also explained that “it has inspected all sites where damage was reported.” According to the legal provisions, the inspections were accompanied with photographs and necessary evidence at the scene for proper verifications to be made thereafter.
“Considering the danger posed by the damaged objects and the speed needed to avoid other consequences, the seizure of these objects cannot be done, it is decided that after performing procedural actions at the scene, the investigative team should be free to decide the consistency of the object from the corresponding instance in each case. At the same time, the seizure of relevant documentation for these facilities in the offices that administer them continues,” the announcement stated.
