Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
09TIRANA300
2009-05-18 13:03:00
UNCLASSIFIED
Embassy Tirana
Cable title:
Embassy Tirana Weekly Report - FM Basha in the Dock
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UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 TIRANA 000300
SIPDIS
STATE FOR EUR/SCE
E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PGOV ENRG EFIN PREL PHUM AL
SUBJECT: Embassy Tirana Weekly Report - FM Basha in the Dock
UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 TIRANA 000300
SIPDIS
STATE FOR EUR/SCE
E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PGOV ENRG EFIN PREL PHUM AL
SUBJECT: Embassy Tirana Weekly Report - FM Basha in the Dock
1. Foreign Minister Lulzim Basha has reasons to be confounded these
days. He does not know yet whether the criminal case that has
haunted him for the last two years for abuse of office over the
construction of the road linking Albania with Kosova is closed for
good or whether a new decision taken by the Supreme Court has opened
it afresh. Two panels of the Supreme Court, ruling on two separate
complaints related to the case against Basha, have taken decisions
that apparently are in full contradiction with each other. Mr.
Basha was accused by the Prosecutor's Office of alleged legal
violations committed when he was Minister of Transportation
overseeing the road construction process. Prosecutors claimed that
the process leading to the signing of the contract with Bechtel
Enka, a Turkish American joint-venture building the segment,
contained serious violations and that the terms of the contract had
improperly increased the cost to the Albanian tax payer to the
amount of hundreds of million of Euros.
Case Dismissed!. . .
--------------
2. The case against Basha, however, entered a legal conundrum in
November of last year when prosecutors extended the legal term
period for the investigation by one month, a move that the
defendants considered unjustified and illegal. What followed was a
number of hearings at various levels of the judiciary that resulted
in two decisions of the Supreme Court that appear at odds with one
another. On April 10, 2009, a panel of the Supreme Court closed the
criminal case against Basha on the arguments that, based on the
decision of the Albanian lower courts, the prosecutors had committed
serious procedural violations and extended the period of
investigation beyond a reasonable limit. The Court consequently
closed the case against Basha and reprimanded the PG's office for
violating Basha's rights.
Or Not. . .
--------------
3. On April 29, 2009, a different panel of the Supreme Court, this
one hearing an appeal by the Prosecutor's office against the lower
Court decisions, found that the lower court rulings were invalid
and that only the Supreme Court had the right to hear cases
involving members of government. [NOTE: The Albanian Constitution
says that the Supreme Court is the only body that can hear criminal
cases involving members of government and Parliament. END NOTE.]
The second decision has now left open the question of whether the
Prosecutor's office could ask the Supreme Court to reconsider its
April 10 decision to throw out the case against Basha - a decision
now found to have been based on invalid lower court decisions.
Ina Rama in the Hot Seat
--------------
4. The Supreme Court decision of April 10 was seen by many in
Albania as a serious blow to the reputation of Prosecutor General
Ina Rama. While the view prevailed that the Court had taken an
unprecedented decision [under political influence] that effectively
deprived the PG's office from the right to bring charges against an
individual, serious questions were also raised as to the reasons why
the PG's office took such a long period of time to conclude the
investigation against Basha. There is as of yet no argument to
substantiate the rumors present among legal circles in Tirana that
the decision was a result of a double play by case prosecutors and
Basha's defense team to allow Basha off the hook. At a time when PG
Ina Rama, however, had only two cases that required her direct
attention, the Gerdec investigation and the case against Basha, any
investigative slip on the part of the PG's office directly
undermines her position. It is for this reason that her decision to
either resurrect the case against Basha or close it forever is being
watched carefully by the Albanian legal community.
Legal No-Man's Land for The FM
--------------
5. The end result of the dueling decisions is that Foreign Minister
Basha remains in legal limbo. The April 29 ruling leaves the door
open to a reopening of the investigation against Basha. However, PG
Ina Rama has sent mixed signals since April 29 on whether or not her
office would seek to restart the Basha investigation.
6. Quote of the Week:
"I want to emphasize that we arrive here without any prejudice or
hidden agenda. Like always, we will let the facts speak for
themselves." Excerpts from the statement of Ambassador Audrey
TIRANA 00000300 002 OF 002
Glover, head of the ODIHR Election Observation Mission to Albania,
to the Albanian Press upon commencement of her mission in Albania.
WITHERS
SIPDIS
STATE FOR EUR/SCE
E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PGOV ENRG EFIN PREL PHUM AL
SUBJECT: Embassy Tirana Weekly Report - FM Basha in the Dock
1. Foreign Minister Lulzim Basha has reasons to be confounded these
days. He does not know yet whether the criminal case that has
haunted him for the last two years for abuse of office over the
construction of the road linking Albania with Kosova is closed for
good or whether a new decision taken by the Supreme Court has opened
it afresh. Two panels of the Supreme Court, ruling on two separate
complaints related to the case against Basha, have taken decisions
that apparently are in full contradiction with each other. Mr.
Basha was accused by the Prosecutor's Office of alleged legal
violations committed when he was Minister of Transportation
overseeing the road construction process. Prosecutors claimed that
the process leading to the signing of the contract with Bechtel
Enka, a Turkish American joint-venture building the segment,
contained serious violations and that the terms of the contract had
improperly increased the cost to the Albanian tax payer to the
amount of hundreds of million of Euros.
Case Dismissed!. . .
--------------
2. The case against Basha, however, entered a legal conundrum in
November of last year when prosecutors extended the legal term
period for the investigation by one month, a move that the
defendants considered unjustified and illegal. What followed was a
number of hearings at various levels of the judiciary that resulted
in two decisions of the Supreme Court that appear at odds with one
another. On April 10, 2009, a panel of the Supreme Court closed the
criminal case against Basha on the arguments that, based on the
decision of the Albanian lower courts, the prosecutors had committed
serious procedural violations and extended the period of
investigation beyond a reasonable limit. The Court consequently
closed the case against Basha and reprimanded the PG's office for
violating Basha's rights.
Or Not. . .
--------------
3. On April 29, 2009, a different panel of the Supreme Court, this
one hearing an appeal by the Prosecutor's office against the lower
Court decisions, found that the lower court rulings were invalid
and that only the Supreme Court had the right to hear cases
involving members of government. [NOTE: The Albanian Constitution
says that the Supreme Court is the only body that can hear criminal
cases involving members of government and Parliament. END NOTE.]
The second decision has now left open the question of whether the
Prosecutor's office could ask the Supreme Court to reconsider its
April 10 decision to throw out the case against Basha - a decision
now found to have been based on invalid lower court decisions.
Ina Rama in the Hot Seat
--------------
4. The Supreme Court decision of April 10 was seen by many in
Albania as a serious blow to the reputation of Prosecutor General
Ina Rama. While the view prevailed that the Court had taken an
unprecedented decision [under political influence] that effectively
deprived the PG's office from the right to bring charges against an
individual, serious questions were also raised as to the reasons why
the PG's office took such a long period of time to conclude the
investigation against Basha. There is as of yet no argument to
substantiate the rumors present among legal circles in Tirana that
the decision was a result of a double play by case prosecutors and
Basha's defense team to allow Basha off the hook. At a time when PG
Ina Rama, however, had only two cases that required her direct
attention, the Gerdec investigation and the case against Basha, any
investigative slip on the part of the PG's office directly
undermines her position. It is for this reason that her decision to
either resurrect the case against Basha or close it forever is being
watched carefully by the Albanian legal community.
Legal No-Man's Land for The FM
--------------
5. The end result of the dueling decisions is that Foreign Minister
Basha remains in legal limbo. The April 29 ruling leaves the door
open to a reopening of the investigation against Basha. However, PG
Ina Rama has sent mixed signals since April 29 on whether or not her
office would seek to restart the Basha investigation.
6. Quote of the Week:
"I want to emphasize that we arrive here without any prejudice or
hidden agenda. Like always, we will let the facts speak for
themselves." Excerpts from the statement of Ambassador Audrey
TIRANA 00000300 002 OF 002
Glover, head of the ODIHR Election Observation Mission to Albania,
to the Albanian Press upon commencement of her mission in Albania.
WITHERS