Prosecutor general’s office to investigate Gerdec

TIRANA, March 30 – The Prosecutor General’s Office reported that the Tirana prosecutor’s office has transferred the investigation of the Gerdec tragedy to the Prosecutor General claiming it lacked the resources to investigate the catastrophe.
The Tirana prosecutor noted that the complexity of the investigation, including possible abuse charges against former Defense Minister Fatmir Mediu, made them transfer the case to the larger federal prosecutor.
As Mediu is still a lawmaker for the Republican Party, it will be the responsibility of Prosecutor General, Ina Rama, to ask parliament to lift his immunity.
Mediu has said he would be open to further investigations, claiming he would relinquish his immunity if Rama asks for. However, officials believe parliament should formally vote on lifting Midus’s immunity.
If that happens, Mediu would become the second member of Prime Minister Sali Berisha’s cabinet to lose his parliamentary immunity. His Foreign Minister, Lulzim Basha, is also being investigated for alleged corruption and abuse of post charges in the issuance of an international tender allowing the U.S.-Turkish group, Bechtel-Enka, to build a 60-kilometer stretch of the Durres-Morini road link to Kosova.