Gerdec victims’ families complain of delays

TIRANA, Nov. 8 – Families of the Gerdec victims, who died more than two years ago from a blast at an ammunition disposal factory, complained that the legal authorities were delaying the trial of those responsible on purpose.
Twenty-six people died, 300 were injured and thousands of houses and other buildings were destroyed or damaged from the blast in March 2008.
The families of the victims complained that Tirana court officials were reaching the end of the detention term for two of the highest-level group of charged persons.
Under Albanian law, cases must be heard before a court at least once every two weeks, but for complex cases hearings may take place daily.
Despite requests from victim’s families for frequent hearings, the judges in the blast case have agreed to hear the case only twice a week – and these have often been postponed because one of the defendants’ lawyers or one of the three judges was absent.
Four defendants are charged with murder. They include Mihal Delijorgji, owner of the Alba-Demil company that managed the demolition work at the blast site, the site administrator, Dritan Minxholi, and Ylli Pinari, former head of Albania’s arms export agency MEICO, which was in charge of supervising the demolition work on site. Sokol Ngjeci, a MEICO supervisor at the demolition facility, has also been charged with murder. All have denied the charges.
Delijorxhi, Minxholi, Pinari and Ngjeci, arrested days after the blast, have appealed against their arraignment, claiming that the lawful limits to their detention have expired.
The Tirana District Court, where the case is being heard and the Appeals Court, denied their requests. But on Wednesday a Supreme Court judicial panel said the lower court rulings did not accord with the law, opening the way for the defendants’ release.
Twenty-eight officials of the defense ministry, army and the private company are accused of abuse of post and four of them also of murder. There had been cases of judges postponing hearings because they had headaches, or even because the lawyers were at a football match. The release of the key defendants would be highly problematic for the entire justice process.