BERISHA LAUNCHES RENEWED ASSAULT ON PROSECUTOR

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 TIRANA 000752 SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 10/13/2018 TAGS: PGOV KJUS PHUM KCOR KCRM PREL AL SUBJECT: BERISHA LAUNCHES RENEWED ASSAULT ON PROSECUTOR GENERAL Classified By: DCM Stephen A. Cristina, reasons 1.4 (b) and (d) ¶1. (C) SUMMARY: Beginning on October 10 and continuing over the weekend, Prime Minister Berisha and the Ministry of Justice began a new campaign to intimidate and obstruct the work of the Office of the Prosecutor General. Alleging that the PG's Office had broken the law while trying last week to question Bosnian businessman Damir Fazlic, the Ministry of Justice first tried to seize prosecutor files relating to Fazlic, then the Interior Ministry threatened to file charges against two prosecutorial investigators involved in the Fazlic investigation. Finally, on October 13, Prime Minister Berisha gave a rambling and emotional press conference at which he strongly denied any government attempts to interfere with the work of the PG and instead accused the PG's office of "undermining its own independence" through its failure to follow the law. END SUMMARY. BERISHA GAMBLES, LOSES. . . -------------- ¶2. (C) The October 2 detention in Bosnia of Bosnian businessman Damir Fazlic set off a press feeding frenzy in Tirana, with widespread speculation and allegation of business ties between Fazlic and the families of Prime Minister Berisha and Foreign Minister Basha. Opposition MPs joined the debate over alleged ties between Fazlic, Berisha and Basha, and demanded answers from the government. In an effort to both clear his name and to stick a finger in the eye of the opposition, Berisha arranged to have Fazlic fly to Tirana on October 9 to give a TV interview to the pro-GOA Klan TV. Unbeknownst to Berisha, Albanian Prosecutors on October 7 had opened a money laundering investigation centered on Fazlic. When prosecutors heard on October 9 that Fazlic had arrived in Tirana on a private jet, they immediately drafted a request that Fazic appear for questioning. ¶3. (C) Tipped off by police who were escorting Fazlic around town, Fazlic made a dash to the airport where he departed Tirana one hour earlier than planned. Police claimed that the summons for Fazlic did not reach them after Fazlic had left, thus clearing police of the charge that they had dragged their feet in delivering the summons to Fazlic, as they are required by law to do. . . .THEN OVERREACTS -------------- ¶4. (C) At 7:30 PM on October 10, two investigators from the Ministry of Justice arrived at the Tirana District Prosecutor's Office with a request to review the Fazlic file. When the MoJ investigators were denied entry on the grounds that they had not filed the necessary paperwork to review the files, they refused to leave the Prosecutor's Office. On October 11, the MoJ inspectors delivered a different request to the Prosecutor General's Office, this time requesting to review the registry of all new criminal files opened since September. Berisha and others later claimed that the MoJ investigators were simply trying to obtain "statistics" from the PG's office, but numerous sources have told the Embassy that the MoJ was trying to seize the Fazlic case files. ¶5. (C) On October 11, the Ministry of Interior said it would "sue" two of the prosecutors involved in trying to summon Fazlic, claiming that the attempt to question Fazlic violated the law. Numerous legal experts have ridiculed the MoI attempt to bring charges against the prosecutors as "legal nonsense." ¶6. (SBU) Finally, on October 13, Berisha held an angry, rambling press conference in which he defended Fazlic as well as the actions of the Ministry of Justice and accused the Prosecutor General's Office of working against Fazlic at the behest of the "mafia" and said the PG's Office is "undermining its own independence" through its alleged failure to follow proper procedures. Berisha made a vague call for an "international investigation" into the Fazlic case, as well as a "parliamentary commission" to look into relations between the PG, MoJ and Ministry of Interior. ¶7. (U) On October 13, the Embassy released the following statement regarding the attacks on the Prosecutor's Office: "We are very troubled by the recent actions of the Minister of Justice and Minister of Interior to interfere with the independence of the prosecutor's office during an ongoing investigation. All cases should be fully, completely and independently investigated without any outside interference or threats to the prosecutors. Respect of all for TIRANA 00000752 002 OF 002 independent institutions is essential for a healthy democracy." ¶8. (U) On October 14, the EU Mission in Albania released the following statement: "The Ambassadors of the European Union in Tirana are troubled by recent developments concerning the judicial system in Albania. This may lead to undue interference and possible institutional conflict in the country. We strongly call upon all, in particular the government, to respect the Constitutional provisions and principles of good governance, including accountability to the law." ¶9. (C) COMMENT: Although seemingly precipitated by the Fazlic firestorm, numerous sources have told the Embassy that this attack on the Prosecutor General's Office is just the latest attempt to derail a number of ongoing investigations. The first investigation is Gerdec, with the second being serious corruption allegations against Foreign Minister Basha and the Durres-Kukes road project, stemming from Basha's time as Minister of Transportation and Public Works. Prosecutorial investigators are reportedly close to completing their work on both the Gerdec and Durres-Kukes investigations. One source told PolOff that Berisha's son will be implicated in the Gerdec investigation and that investigators have determined that financial abuse during the Durres-Kukes road project - all during Basha's stint as Minister of Transport and Public Works - amounted to nearly 200 million euros. Given the politically explosive nature of these ongoing investigations, Berisha has ample reason to continue and even increase pressure on the PG's Office. WITHERS