[ALBSA-Info] Albanian judge sacked in anti-corruption drive

[Gazhebo at aol.com]

Albanian judge sacked in anti-corruption drive

  
TIRANA, March 9 (Reuters) - Albania's judicial watchdog agency, pursuing a 
crackdown on corruption, sacked a judge on Friday for releasing a man found 
in possession of drugs and weapons. 

But the 13-member oversight body did not back President Rexhep Meidani's call 
for a second judge involved in the controversial case to be dismissed. 

The council ruled that judge Arta Dano had acted illegally when she freed a 
man caught in possession of two kilograms of illegal drugs as well as 
Kalashnikov rifles. 

The suspect, regarded by police as a key figure in the Albanian underworld, 
has since disappeared. 

The United States, Albania's main Western patron, has criticised widespread 
corruption in the judiciary of the impoverished Balkan nation and said judges 
are inexperienced, poorly trained and subject to political pressure. 

Justice Minister Arbem Imami hailed Friday's decision as "an important 
victory for the judiciary and society against injustice, crime and corruption 
in the judiciary."