Albania's chief prosecutor refuses to cooperate with Parliament committee investigating him

TIRANA, Albania: Albania's chief prosecutor refused on Tuesday to cooperate with a parliamentary committee investigating allegations he failed to crack down on corruption and organized crime and possibly obstructed justice in the Balkan country.

Prosecutor General Theodhori Sollaku, who denies wrongdoing, said he considered the committee's work "unconstitutional."

Sollaku, who was former President Sali Berisha's legal adviser from 1992 to 1997, said he would not meet with the committee until he was shown the "facts that are claimed to be in grave violation of the law."

Lawmakers on the 11-member committee, created last week, said they had "the foundations for the final report."

"We have enough proof to show" that the prosecutor's office has failed to stem organized crime and corruption, said chairman Ferdinand Xhaferri.

Berisha's Democrats, who hold the majority in Parliament, have accused Sollaku of ties to crime bosses. He is also being investigated for allegedly delaying the judicial process in cases against Albanian suspects.

Corruption and organized crime are major issues in Albania, one of Europe's poorest countries.

Last year, after a similar investigation, the Democrats tried to oust Sollaku — whose position carries no term limit and can only be terminated if he is found to have broken the law or be incapacitated by illness — but the effort was blocked by then-President Alfred Moisiu.

President Bamir Topi, who took office in July and has the final say over Sollaku's fate once Parliament approves the report, is likely to back his removal. (IHT)