Parliament to decide on lifting immunity to foreign minister

TIRANA, Dec. 17 – The parliament decided Monday to schedule a debate on lifting the immunity of Foreign Minister Lulzim Basha next week.
Former Prosecutor General, Theodhori Sollaku, had requested the parliament to lift his immunity so that prosecutors could investigate deeper into an alleged scandal involving the Rreshen-Kalimash road segment when Basha served as transport minister.
Last week, Basha went by himself to the prosecutor’s office to be questioned for about two hours.
But lifting his immunity means that he may also be charged with a crime.
The opposition has accused Basha of misappropriation of public funds and corruption in the road tender and choosing the winning bids.
The Rreshen-Kalimash segment is the most difficult one in the Durres-Kukes highway linking to neighboring Kosova. It has a 5.5 kilometer-long tunnel.
The segment is being built by the U.S.-Turkish corporation Bechtel-Enka.
The parliament is expected to vote on Basha’s immunity next week.
Prime Minister Sali Berisha has recently said that his governing Democratic Party-led coalition would be ready to immediately lift the immunity of any top official if asked by the prosecutor.
Petro Koci of the opposition Socialists hailed the decision and also appealed to the prosecutor’s office to conduct itself professionally and impartially.