The European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) ruled on Tuesday that 17 victims of the explosion at an ammunition facility in the Albanian town of Gerdec in March 2008 were “deprived of the possibility to participate effectively in the criminal trial” of the country’s then defense minister Fatmir Mediu, who was accused of abuse of office over the blast.

“In the case of Durdaj and Others v. Albania, the Court has found a violation of the procedural aspect of the right to life. The case concerned an explosion at a facility set up by the State authorities for dismantling decommissioned and obsolete weapons, machinery and equipment of the armed forces. In total, 26 people died and over 300 were injured. The Court found that the applicants had been deprived of the possibility to participate effectively in the criminal trial,” the ruling said.

The Strasbourg Court pointed out that the investigation as a whole resulted in the filing of indictments against 29 persons, including a former defense minister Fatmir Mediu, who, at the time of the explosion, was an MP, but whose immunity was lifted in June 2008. However, following his re-election as an MP, which gave Mediu renewed parliamentary immunity, the prosecution did not seek fresh authorization from Parliament to waive that immunity and the High Court discontinued pursuit of the criminal proceedings against him in 2009.

“The national prosecuting authorities had provided no convincing explanations for their failure to resume the investigation immediately after [Mediu’s] re-election as MP, thus raising serious questions as to their willingness and diligence to pursue the matter and creating a potential for impunity,” the ECHR’s ruling said.

“While the court was not taking a stance as to his criminal responsibility, it considered that the applicants as well as the general public had the right to know not only the circumstances in which the Gerdec tragedy had taken place, but also the exact role the former Minister of Defense had played in it,” it added.

The Court held that Albania was to pay 12,000 euros jointly to Zamira and Feruzan Durdaj whose son died as a result of hazardous activities at the facility and 10,000 euros each to the other applicants in respect of non-pecuniary damage.