Former Defense Minister Fatmir Mediu stated today that the reports of the National Security Council regarding the Gërdec issue should be declassified.

In a statement to the media after a session held at the Special Court, Mediu said that he has requested a letter from the Presidency regarding the mentioned report, and this should have been done by the Prosecutor’s Office.

Mediu expressed that it became clear that Gërdec was not determined by the minister as the location for the dismantling of ammunition, but was predetermined by the company carrying the process.

“Order 2044 was prepared by the general staff, the staff structures. The issues raised by [Ylli] Pinari do not belong to the Ministry of Defense. The decision of the Council of Ministers specifies tasks for MEICO and determines the need for dismantling. In the Armed Forces, there cannot be an order from the minister; otherwise, we would not be talking about the Armed Forces. The Ministry of Defense has implemented international and legal obligations, along with the assigned task. The minister establishes the commission for pricing and categorization, then the order comes from the general staff,” he said.

Mediu also added that “there was a meeting of the National Council, which did not exclude the possibility of intervention to create a situation before joining NATO”.

“We were warned that we should be careful about any events before joining NATO. These documents should have been declassified. It is in the interest of Albania to conduct an investigation,” said the former minister.

The legal case against Mediu was initiated following a complaint lodged by the families of the victims.

He stands accused of “Abuse of Duty” in collaboration and “Abuse of Duty” in conjunction with military personnel/commanders.

These identical charges were originally brought against him by the General Prosecutor’s Office in 2009, although Mediu was never brought to trial for these allegations as he regained his deputy mandate in the summer of that year.

Meanwhile, the former director of the MEICO company, Ylli Pinari, stated that the responsibility for the explosion in Gërdec lies with the Armed Forces and the contracting company.

“They have not performed any of the tasks specified by legislation, government decisions, and ministerial orders. For me, it is their responsibility, of the operator who should have implemented the rules we had set in the contract,” he declared.

Pinari added that his company was only in charge of taking delivery and handing over the ammunition.

“MEICO had the duty to take delivery and hand over the ammunition, that’s it. MEICO’s status is an enterprise representing the interests of the owner of the goods, which were the Armed Forces, delivered the goods, and all cash transactions passed into the state budget,” stated Pinari outside the Special Court.

Pinari was found guilty in the first file for the case. He confessed how he came into contact with Patrick Henry, the representative of SAC, the company involved in the demolition process in Gërdec.

Pinari testified that Patrick Henry had created the company called “Alba Demil” in Albania, with businessman Mihal Delijorgji as co-shareholder.

“Initially we had communications via email. After the exchange of information, Patrick proposed the creation of a dismantling line,” said Pinari, highlighting that MEICO was not involved in the process of determining Gërdec as a dismantling site for the ammunition stock owned by the army.

The March 15, 2008 ammunition depot explosion in the village of Gërdec tragically resulted in 26 fatalities and over 250 injuries.