Albania’s former health minister, Ilir Beqaj, under investigation for alleged corruption, has been instructed by prosecutors to regularly report to the police and is prohibited from leaving the country. The Special Court Against Corruption and Organized Crime prosecutors specified that Beqaj must report every Friday, and he is barred from using his passport or identity card for international travel. The special prosecution agency, established in 2019, focuses on cases involving corruption and other crimes committed by senior officials. Beqaj, 55, who served as health minister from 2013-2017, resigned from his position coordinating international assistance amid accusations of corruption and abuse of power related to a government project on medical item sterilization. Despite denying the allegations, Beqaj has pledged to comply with prosecutors’ orders. Corruption remains a significant challenge in post-communist Albania, impacting democratic, economic, and social development. The country has seen increased efforts by new judicial institutions to investigate corruption cases involving former government officials.
By FCCT Editorial Team
, an independent military force, and allied militias in Sudan raped several dozen women and girls in West Darfur’s capital, El Geneina, and those fleeing to Chad between late April and late June 2023, Human Rights Watch said today. The assailants appear to have targeted people because of their Massalit ethnicity and, in some cases, because they were known activists.){kind=link}