Basha neglects prosecutor’s summons

TIRANA, Nov 27 – Foreign Minster Lulzim Basha did not go to theprosecutor’s ioffice where he was summoned to be handed over the charges of abuse of power and corruption over the highway construction contract linking Albania and Kosova.
Only Basha’s lawyer Zef Nikaj went to the prosecutor’s office to hand over his complaint over the treatment of the case.
Nikaj sid he had made known to the prosecutor they were breaking the laws by summoning the minister after they had earlier cancelled the investigation based on the court verdict.
Basha is accused of improperly favoring a U.S.-Turkish joint venture when awarding the highway contract while he was transport minister. He is also accused of corruption.
Basha was stripped of immunity in December last year, paving the way for a judicial investigation and the charges filed against him.
Basha, who was transport minister between 2005 and April 2007, denies accusations of impropriety.
The charge is related to an October 2006 deal the state signed with the Bechtel-Enka consortium, made up of San Francisco, California-based Bechtel International Inc. and Istanbul-based Enka.
The consortium was awarded the 418 million euro contract to build a 65-kilometer section of road. That figure has been increased significantly.
The highway, to be completed by mid-2009, will link Albania’s isolated north to neighboring ethnic-Albanian-dominated Kosova.