Prosecutor General opposes hearing to parliamentary commission

TIRANA, Oct. 29 – Prosecutor General Theodhori Sollaku did not agree to report to an investigative parliamentary committee Monday, saying he had found no concrete accusation against him.
Sollaku was called to appear before the committee on Monday to answer accusations that he had not committed his office to a proper fight against corruption and organized crime. Last week, the Parliament had decided to begin a one-month investigation of Sollaku.
The committee was created to begin the procedure for ousting him from his post, a move that the governing Democrats of Prime Minister Sali Berisha have sought since they came to power more than two years ago. Sollaku said that the request had “some conclusions but did not introduce any fact taking to those conclusions or to link these facts/violations with the prosecutor-general.”
Sollaku announced his decision in a letter he sent to the committee.
“As Prosecutor General does not have any material to add to the facts , which is the object of investigation from your commissions, it is impossible to make objections for still unknown facts,” he said in the letter. He urged the commission to bring facts to him and “only after that we shall be at the hearing to give our objections on what is claimed.”
On the same day the opposition leaders claimed that the governing Democrats’ efforts to oust Sollaku were breaking the deal on reforming the judiciary and the committee created for that failing.
Ferdinand Xhaferrri, who heads the parliamentary committee, said they considered the answer from Sollaku as his not wishing to report to them and that he was not going to be called again.
Sollaku’s future has turned into a hot political dispute in the last two years that may likely end in November when the parliamentary committee is expected to ask President Bamir Topi to fire him.
The opposition refuses to take part in the committee, saying Berisha wants to usurp this independent institution as well. But the Democrats now have Topi as president.
Last year another investigative parliamentary committee asked then-President Alfred Moisiu to fire Sollaku for what they considered as violations of the constitution. But Moisiu, as president holds the power to oust the prosecutor-general, was not convinced.
This time Topi, a former deputy leader of the Democrats, is expected to remove Sollaku.
They also say the ongoing conflict between Berisha and Sollaku is a serious setback for efforts to curb organized crime and corruption.
Berisha has been locked in an unsuccessful battle to remove Sollaku, whom he has accused of having ties with organized crime and of failing to pursue corruption cases. Sollaku has denied all allegations against him and said the attempt to remove him was proof the government wants control over the judiciary.
The country has to tackle its endemic corruption problem and fight organized crime as part of its efforts to integrate into NATO and the European Union. That has been a continuous and clear demand from the international institutions.