GERDEC TRIAL DATE SET; BERISHA AND MEDIU FORM

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 TIRANA 000197 SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 03/31/2019 TAGS: PGOV PARM KCOR KJUS KDEM AL SUBJECT: GERDEC TRIAL DATE SET; BERISHA AND MEDIU FORM "GERDEC" COALITION Classified By: DCM Stephen Cristina for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d) ¶1. (C) Summary. On March 25, the Albanian Supreme Court announced that the trial against former Defense Minister Fatmir Mediu will begin May 4. The day before, Mediu filed his own charges against Prosecutor General Ina Rama and lead investigator in the Gerdec case Sokol Stojani. Prime Minister Berisha continued his outspoken defense of Mediu on March 20, publicly announcing an election coalition with Mediu's Republican Party (PR) and again lambasting the Prosecutor General for politically motivated accusations. Albanian commentators believe Berisha's election campaign is being taken hostage by Mediu and the Gerdec case. They speculate that in return for Mediu's silence concerning the involvement of Berisha's family members in the Gerdec scandal, Berisha has agreed to give Mediu full political support. Mediu was also instrumental in arranging most of Berisha's February trip to Washington to attend the Prayer Breakfast. Opposition members have seized on these events and have labeled the PD-PR coalition the "Gerdec" coalition. End Summary. MEDIU FILES COUNTER-CHARGES -------------- ¶2. (U) On March 24, Mediu filed suit against Rama and Stojani for revealing investigation secrets and for abuse of office respectively. According to Mediu's lawyers, on April 25, 2008 in a press release announcing the investigation, Rama illegally revealed certain secret information from the investigation. They also claimed that Stojani sent text messages to journalists involved in a TV debate with Mediu to try to get the journalists to discredit him. Mediu's lawyers claim that the Tirana Prosecutor's office has the right to investigate the Prosecutor General (PG) and that Rama and Stojani must be suspended from office until this investigation is complete. ¶3. (C) Note. The original draft law on the Prosecutor General would have permitted such a suspension of the PG in this kind of situation. But the international community successfully insisted the respective clause be removed, as it was a clear attempt to politically control the PG. End Note. ¶4. (C) Given the legal vacuum caused by Mediu,s suit, the director of the Tirana District Prosecutor,s Office Gent Xholi has personally taken the case. Xholi has told Post that as far as he is aware, Rama,s April 2008 press release involved no secret information and all journalists involved in the TV debate with Mediu have denied receiving text messages from Stojani. Thus, he intends to dismiss Mediu,s charges, after which Mediu can appeal the dismissal. RECIPROCAL HOSTAGES -------------- ¶5. (C) Critics in the media question why Mediu waited almost a whole year to file charges against Rama's actions in April of last year, and they are unconvinced by Mediu's claim that he did not want to influence the ongoing investigation. They believe his actions are more likely tied to his now-complicated relationship with PM Berisha. It is a well-known fact that Berisha's brother-in-law died while working at the Gerdec factory, and there have been rumors that Berisha's son lobbied in favor of the Gerdec contract. Many believe that in return for Mediu's silence concerning the involvement of Berisha's family members in the Gerdec scandal, Berisha has agreed to give Mediu full political support. ¶6. (C) For Mediu,s part, the new electoral code clearly favors large parties like Berisha's Democratic Party, at the expense of smaller ones like Mediu's Republican Party. As the tarnished, embattled leader of a small party, Mediu needs every shred of political support he can get. It is widely known that Mediu arranged Berisha,s February trip to Washington, which Berisha considered an unconditional success. Critics also note that Mediu filed charges against Rama and Stojani only a few days after Berisha publicly announced his election campaign coalition with Mediu's Republican Party. During the announcement Berisha again accused the PG of political motivations, of "forming pseudo-accusations" and of pressuring judges. THE GERDEC COALITION -------------- ¶7. (C) The opposition Socialist Party immediately seized the opportunity and labeled the Berisha-Mediu pact the "Gerdec Coalition." Anecdotal evidence suggests the label is sticking and will injure the majority's reelection chances. Berisha's only hope is to find a way to stall the court case past the June 28 elections, and Mediu's charges against the PG are likely the first salvo in this new attack. WITHERS