High Court in Albania refused this Wednesday the request of the former minister of health, Ilir Beqaj to be released.

He is arrested by order of the Special Prosecution against Corruption (SPAK), due to investigations for SASPAC file.

The court has also dismissed the appeals filed by the other defendants involved in this case, namely Alfred Nikolla, Bjona Ziaj, Bledar Leka, Elton Marini, Ermal Kurtulaj, Gazmend Haxhia. Two of the 8 defendants in the case, Ermal Kurtulaj and Ilir Beqaj are behind bars, while the others have been placed under lighter security measures.

Ilir Beqaj is accused of embezzling funds provided by the European Union during the period he was head of SASPAC (State Agency for Strategic Programming and Aid Coordination).