VZCZCXRO5078
RR RUEHIK
DE RUEHTI #0075/01 0341153
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 031153Z FEB 10
FM AMEMBASSY TIRANA
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 8799
INFO RUEHZL/EUROPEAN POLITICAL COLLECTIVE
RUEHZG/NATO EU COLLECTIVE

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 TIRANA 000075 
 
SIPDIS 
SENSITIVE 
 
STATE PASS TO EUR/SCE:JISMAIL 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PGOV PREL KCOR PHUM AL
 
SUBJECT: WHITHER GERDEC? 
 
TIRANA 00000075  001.2 OF 002 
 
 
¶1. (U) Summary: Almost two years after the tragic accident at the 
Gerdec military facility that killed 26 and injured hundreds, and 
one year since the first criminal case began, no verdicts have yet 
been handed down, although several criminal and civil cases have 
been filed and are ongoing.  While the original criminal case 
against then-Defense Minister Fatmir Mediu,(who is now the Minister 
of Environment),  was terminated when Mediu regained his immunity as 
a member of the new parliament in September 2009, victims' families 
have filed a new case against him in the Supreme Court, which will 
likely request removal of his immunity again.  Besides the ongoing 
criminal case against 29 others accused in the tragedy, various 
other civil cases have been filed against the accused, including an 
appeal to the Council of Europe's Court on Human Rights in 
Strasbourg.  All cases are ongoing and a verdict from any is 
unlikely in the coming months, although a re-opened Supreme Court 
case against Mediu in the near future will likely grab front-page 
attention in the media. End Summary. 
 
FIRST MEDIU CASES SUSPENDED 
--------------------------- 
 
¶2. (U) In March 2009, a criminal case was opened against 30 
defendants in the tragedy, including former Defense Minister Mediu, 
former Chief of Defense Luan Hoxha, MEICO Director Ylli Pinari, 
Albademil owner Mihal Delijorgi, Albademil director Dritan Minxolli, 
and several other high and middle-ranking officials in the Albanian 
military and Ministry of Defense.  Four of the defendants were 
arrested and are being held in pretrial detention (Pinari, 
Delijorgji, Minxolli and MEICO supervisor Sokol Ngjeci), while the 
others are out on bail.  Soon after the trial opened, Mediu's case 
was separated from the 29 others as only the Supreme Court has the 
right to try ministers.  All others are being tried in the Tirana 
First Instance Court.  However, Mediu's Supreme Court case suffered 
several delays due to Mediu's absence or the absence of lawyers. 
The case was finally rescheduled for September 11, a week after the 
swearing in of the new parliament.  After winning a seat in the June 
elections, Mediu regained his immunity, and when the case finally 
convened, the Supreme Court immediately suspended it on the grounds 
that Mediu was again immune from prosecution.  The Prosecutor 
General has ruled out requesting a new removal of Mediu's immunity, 
claiming the Supreme Court's termination of the case was final (a 
claim some legal experts dispute). 
 
PROTRACTED CRIMINAL CASE AGAINST 29 OTHERS 
------------------------------------------ 
 
¶3. (SBU) Meanwhile, the criminal case against the 29 other 
defendants began in earnest in September 2009.  Since then, the 
Tirana court has held approximately ten sessions, with numerous 
postponements due to absent lawyers or defendants.  The prosecution 
has submitted a list of 151 witnesses.  Victims' lawyers have told 
Post that among the witnesses, a handful of experts will require the 
lengthiest questioning, while many other witnesses will only be 
asked a few questions.  Thus, as long as the trial does not continue 
to suffer numerous delays, the witness phase of the trial should not 
be protracted. 
 
¶4. (U) Witnesses called so far have been victims and their families. 
 Most notably, prosecutors have proven and Minxolli has admitted 
that security measures at Gerdec were deplorable, and that minors 
were illegally employed at the facility.  Minxolli claimed he hired 
the children out of compassion for their poverty-stricken families. 
Minxolli has been the most vocal defendant, claiming that the 
American company SAC had full responsibility for security at Gerdec, 
and that then-Chief of Defense General Luan Hoxha and his deputy 
personally visited and approved of Gerdec.  A witness has testified 
that he was hired to work at Gerdec by Minxolli in February 2007, 
three months before the Gerdec demil project received legal 
approval.  Although refuted by Minxo`Qi, this testimony would seEQQ`r-in-law and 
Berisha's son were involved in Gerdec management, information he did 
not epeat on February 1. 
 
CIVIL SUITS 
----------- 
 
¶6. (SBU) Several individuals and institutions have also filed civil 
 
TIRANA 00000075  002.2 OF 002 
 
 
suits against Mediu and the 29 defendants.  Suits have been filed by 
two separate victims' families, as well as by the State Advocate, 
and by insurance companies seeking compensation from the State.  In 
essence, once the criminal case has been decided, the civil cases 
will then adjudicate financial compensation.  Accusers requested 
their suits be joined with the criminal case, so that their lawyers 
could participate in the prosecution, but the Tirana Court refused. 
Accusers appealed to Albania's Constitutional Court, which stated 
that it would postpone a decision until the criminal case has been 
decided.  Accusers then appealed to the Council of Europe's Human 
Rights Court in Strasbourg.  While Strasbourg agreed to hear the 
case, it set a deadline of February 1 and required a ruling in the 
criminal case.  As the deadline has passed, accusers' lawyers have 
told Post that they have dropped the case and will consider 
submitting a new appeal once the criminal case is completed. 
 
NEW CRIMINAL CASE AGAINST MEDIU 
------------------------------- 
 
¶7. (U) In January, two separate victims' families filed criminal 
cases against Mediu in the Supreme Court.  In the Albanian legal 
system, victims can also file criminal cases.  In this instance, the 
court first arranges a "reconciliation session" in which both sides 
appear before the judges to try to reconcile differences without 
opening up an actual criminal case.  If reconciliation is not 
reached (or if the defendant refuses to participate) then the Court 
begins a criminal trial.  As Mediu is a government minister who can 
only be tried by the Supreme Court, victims filed their suits at the 
Supreme Court. 
 
¶8. (SBU) On January 25, a reconciliation session was held for the 
first of the two suits.  Contrary to expectations, Mediu appeared at 
the Supreme Court to participate.  In the session, Mediu allegedly 
argued that he was not responsible for Gerdec since the Military 
Export-Import Company (MEICO) had been given full responsibility, 
and he requested the victims drop the case as Mediu had already 
accepted moral responsibility for the tragedy.  As expected, the 
victims refused.  This opened the door for a criminal case to begin. 
 In its ruling, the Court decided to join the case with the second 
criminal suit filed by victims' families and will thus await the 
outcome of its reconciliation session, which is scheduled for 
February 15.  Victims' lawyers have told Post they intend to refuse 
reconciliation, after which, the Supreme Court will open the 
criminal case and request Parliament remove Mediu's immunity. 
Lawyers have also told Post that up to five other families are 
considering filing their own separate criminal suits against Mediu. 
They also claim that if Mediu's immunity is removed for these cases, 
this would technically open the door for the Prosecutor General to 
reopen its original criminal case against Mediu.  To date, however, 
the PG has shown no interest in doing so. 
 
¶9. (SBU) Lastly, victims' lawyers report they are also considering 
filing a separate civil suit against the Ministry of Defense as an 
institution, and demanding the State pay compensation to victims. 
No decision has yet been made, though. 
 
COMMENT 
------- 
 
¶10. (SBU) The myriad of court cases concerning Gerdec will continue 
to capture local media headlines, especially as witnesses in the 
larger criminal case continue to reveal new details and defendants 
make accusations of their own.  A new criminal case against Mediu 
will also catch public attention.  However, it is unlikely that a 
verdict in any of the cases will be reached in the first half of 
2010 and several cases may drag on to the next year.  While the 
ongoing saga continues to capture public attention, its influence on 
politics has become minimal and would likely only effect political 
developments if Mediu were found guilty.  To date, an Albanian 
Minister has never been convicted of a crime.