The trial against the former Minister of Defense Fatmir Mediu has been postponed to May 24th. The postponement of the session was requested by his two layers, while the Special Anti-Corruption Structure was expected to give the pretense for Mediu this Tuesday.
Fatmir Mediu is charged by the Special Prosecutor’s Office in the capacity of the former Minister of Defense for the criminal offense of “abuse of duty” and “abuse of duty in cooperation with a military subject” in regards to the Gërdeci tragedy in 2008. 26 people died and more than 350 others were wounded after an ex-military ammunition depot detonated. Albanian and American munitions experts were preparing to destroy stockpiles of obsolete ammunition. The methodical destruction was supposed to occur with a series of small, controlled explosions. However, a chain of events led to the entire stockpile detonating simultaneously. Hundreds of houses were demolished within a few kilometers of the depot, while the explosions could be heard as far away as the North Macedonian capital of Skopje, 170 km away.
The court did not say whether the family members of the victims will be part of the process, while Mediu has claimed he is not innocent.
