Prosecutor seeks 3-year prison term for Albanian ex-minister

TIRANA, Albania – A prosecutor is seeking a three-year prison term for former Albanian labour minister Spiro Ksera, who is on trial for abuse of power.

Ksera, 48, minister of labour, social affairs and equal opportunities in the cabinet of then-Prime Minister Sali Berisha until 2013, is accused of issuing a 30 million-lek (then $285,000, or 215,000 euro) tender for activities that never took place, but were authenticated by using fake photos and video.

The prosecutor on Monday also sought jail terms of one-and-a-half years each for three other ministry employees.

Corruption and bribery remain hot issues as political parties are locked in a dispute over a draft judicial reform package, which is key to convincing the European Union to launch full membership talks soon with the tiny Balkan country.

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