Category: News and Events

International Protocol To Deal With Sexual Violence in Conflict Launched in Sarajevo

The International Protocol on Documentation and Investigation of Sexual Violence in Conflict was launched today in Sarajevo. The Balkan Investigative Reporting Network in BiH, a partner in the project, presented several testimonies of sexual violence survivors.

“The testimonies are part of BIRN BiH’s wider research with the aim of making a documentary film dedicated to victims of rape. Their stories compelled us to address all the issues they face today,” said Mirna Buljugic, acting director of BIRN BiH.

The protocol contains a set of standards of best practice on how to document sexual violence as an international crime. In addition to containing guidelines on how to recognise sexual violence it is also protective of the rights of survivors.

“There is a need for survivors to speak up, to be heard, and to address the trauma of sexual violence,” said the UK ambassador to BiH Edward Ferguson.

The Protocol is to be used by the Center for Support of Peace Operations to further the education of BiH troops who are deployed in war zones.

The event is part of the Prevention of Sexual Violence Initiative launched in 2012 by the UK Foreign Minister William Hague at the time and the UN Special Envoy Angelina Jolie.

BIRN BiH Presents Documentary Film on Wartime Rape

The Balkan Investigative Reporting Network in Bosnia and Herzegovina (BIRN BiH) will on November 19 premier its latest documentary film dedicated to the victims of wartime sexual violence in Sarajevo, at the Business Center Unitic.

The film, ‘The Silent Scream’, features account of several men and women who were raped during the Bosnian war. Their stories portray a wide range of issues that the victims of sexual abuse face today.

“One of the most challenging things for the victims of sexual violence is speaking up. We hope their testimonies will motivate other silent victims to step out,” says the executive producer of the film, Mirna Buljugic.

Victims of sexual abuse are often stigmatized in their local communities. Their trauma is passed on to their children and their status is still not regulated by the State. They are often unaware of their rights when invited to testify before courts.

“The film explains the entire process, from the moment when victims are invited to testify, through to the identity protection measures they are entitled to, and the support that they can get from professional associations,” says Buljugic.

Earlier this year BIRN BiH hosted a panel discussion on the topic and presented several testimonies at the End Sexual Violence in Conflict Global Summit in London, which is part of a worldwide initiative launched by the UK government.

The film is the second documentary to be produced by BIRN BiH, and supported by the Foreign Commonwealth Office.

BIRN BiH Holds Judiciary-Media Meeting in Travnik

The Balkan Investigative Reporting Network Bosnia and Herzegovina held the second of its annual countrywide round of meetings with representatives of the media and judiciary in Travnik on Wednesday.

The aim of the meetings is to improving cooperation between local media and judiciary representatives.

Local journalists and representatives of the Cantonal Court in Novi Travnik, the prosecutor’s office in Travnik and the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe had a productive debate on a set of guidelines introduced by High Judicial and Prosecutorial Council that regulate the publishing of indictments and verdicts on official web pages.

Although the guidelines are not obligatory, both court and prosecutor’s office representatives said that they were very useful and will be adopted and implemented in their internal rulebooks.

“We do support the initiative that name and surname of the accused should be published, but not before the indictment is confirmed. Although it is hard to give a statement using only initials, we have to protect the investigation process,” explained Edina Jaganjac, spokeswoman of the prosecutor’s office in Travnik.

Dragana Sivonjic, a journalist from Radio Vitez, asked the court and prosecutor office’s spokespeople to simplify the language they use in official news and public statements.

“It happens quite often that we receive a press release full of technical and legal phrases which even we cannot understand. It would be very helpful if we could receive statements in more appropriate language for the general public, so we can transfer the news to a wider audience,” Sivonjic said.

Participants also agreed on the necessity of following professional and ethical standards in reporting in order to inform the public in an objective way, but also to secure the rights of participants in a legal process – the accused, victims and witnesses.

“The wrong interpretation of information from the court can cause lots of damage, both to the institution and trial participants,” judge Zuhdija Cosic said.

By the end of November, BIRN BiH will organise three more meetings with local representatives in Brcko, Banja Luka and Sarajevo.

BIRN Fellowship to be Presented in Belgrade

For the eighth year in a row, 10 promising journalists from across the region will present the investigative reports they developed at part of BIRN’s annual Balkan Fellowship for Journalistic Excellence scheme.

This year’s topic is ‘Generations’, and the 10 reporters who were selected to take part have been working hard for the past few months to complete their cross-border investigations.

The best three works will be chosen by a selection committee and awarded a cash prize of 4,000 euros for first place, 3,000 euros for second place and 1,000 euros for third place.

The while award winners will be announced at the Balkan Fellowship for Journalistic Excellence closing event and award ceremony in Belgrade on November 28.

This year’s final event will also be attended by more than 60 Fellowship alumni from nine countries in the region.
They will gather at the BFJE Alumni meeting, organised every second year with the aim of enabling networking and providing a platform for the sharing of experiences as well as providing funds for joint regional journalistic projects.  
At a time when media across the region are under strong political and economic pressures, the Fellowship programme enables journalists to work on projects of their own choice with editorial and professional support, serving as an example which the media industry could emulate.  

BIG DEAL: Kosovo-Serbia Agreements’ Implementation Halted

“Civilsed Monotony,” a new report on the implementation of Kosovo-Serbia agreements was launched today in Prishtina.

This reportis the work of Big Deal, an initiative of BIRN Kosovo, the Center for Transparency, Research and Accountability, CRTA, from Serbia, and Internews Kosova.

The report is the result of more than 70 interviews with negotiators, local politicians, journalists and ordinary citizens and over six months of intensive research done across Kosovo and Serbia.

With an in-depth view of the current state of play in implementation, Big Deal aims to make the process of normalizing relations a more transparent one.

Big Deal’s first report examines the dynamics of the implementation, which has been seriously hindered by the political deadlock in Kosovo, decisions by the Serbian Constitutional Court and crises that have shifted the attention of the European Union.

Big Deal is supported by the UK Foreign and Commonwealth Office in Belgrade and Prishtina, and the Rockefeller Brothers Fund. Big Deal will publish reports every six months.

 

 

Failure to Execute the Verdict

On October 21, 2014 “Justice in Kosovo” broadcasted the investigation presenting facts that the branch of Basic Court of Gjakova, in Malisheva was incapable to execute a verdict released in 2009.

The findings of this investigation show how the experts of the Cadaster in the municipality of Malisheva were threatened. Also, the court’s verdicts hurt cadaster’s officials because they did not want to do their job under threat.

The widow Rabishe Mazreku said that she cannot possess the property her dead husband left her even though there is a verdict from the court giving her this right.
This property is usurped by the bother of her husband Bajram Mazreku. Even 7 years after the court verdict was released, she still cannot gain possession of the land.

Bajram Mazreku was contacted by “Justice in Kosovo” but did not want to comment on the case. Haxhi Millaku, Bajram Mazreku’s lawyer said that his client was threatened by Rabishe Mazreku’s family, which she denies.

On the other side, Fadil Shala head of cadastre of Malisheva said their officials were threatened by Bajram Rexhepi when the court verdict was being executed.

On the second part of the program, there was reportage about municipality properties in Malisheva that are disputable.

Qamil Mazreku from Malisheva cannot be compensated for the property that the municipality of Malisheva took from his father Qazim Mazreku.

It seems that they gave a controversial property to Mazreku’s family because citizens from the Carrakulla village pretended to own the land.

Ahmet Hoti from Carrakulla village said that this property belongs to his family as it was bought many years ago by his father.Ragib Begaj Mayor of Malisheva said that he has no explanation for this case and said to contact the municipality’s lawyers.

The lawyer did not want to comment while the camera was rolling and answered with a letter, explaining that the land was given as compensation to the Mazreku family, and that the is property belongs to the municipality. According to him, Hoti’s family has no ownership of this property.

The Hoti family sued the municipality and the Basic Court of Malisheva decided in their favor.But now the case is on the Court of Appeal to take a verdict on this property.

Constitution Inside the Envelope

On October 12, 2014 Justice in Kosovo debated regarding the extension of  the mandate of three international judges of the Constitutional Court of Kosovo.

The verdict on whether the President violated the Constitution in order to extend the mandate to the international judges of the Constitutional Court of Kosovo will be taken in 2016.

Experts and lawyers interviewed by “Justice in Kosovo” said that the Ombudsperson request filed by Constitutional Court to clear up if the President violated Constitution can only be decided in 2016.Currently, 7 lawyers are working on the Constitutional Court, three of them are newly appointed.

According the former judge of the Constitutional Court Gjuleta Mushkolaj the three international judges cannot judge this case because this creates conflict of interest.

“The three decreed lawyers cannot judge this case, it presents conflict of interest, while to judge this case 7 lawyers are needed” said Mushkolaj.

The Ombudsperson filed a request by the Constitutional Court asking to evaluate if the President decree is constitutional.
Sami Kurteshi, Ombudsperson on an interview for “Justice in Kosovo” explained the reasons why he thinks this decision is unconstitutional.

“The decree is not based on the Constitution of Kosovo and this makes it unconstitutional” stated Kurteshi.He listed the cases that he found contradicted the President decree.

The officials of the President office did not comment on the case. They did not even agree to comment on the memo compiled by EULEX officials, which was broadcasted during the “Life in Kosovo” TV program, which showed how the EULEX officers persuaded the President to release this decree.

Even the head of the Constitutional Court, Enver Hasani did not comment on this document, even though on this memo states that EULEX officials consulted him before the decree was released.
According to Mushkolaj:“None of the judges of the Constitutional Court is permitted to give advice”.

Message Leaking from Gjakova Prosecution

On October 5, 2014 “Justice in Kosovo” covered an exclusive confession of a man who explains how he managed to obtain all the messages his ex-wife sent to his neighbor.

The ex-wife complained to “Justice in Kosovo” because her husband was not allowing her to see her child. When he was contacted by “Justice in Kosovo”, he stated that his wife had an affair with the neighbor, and that he has evidence.

He said that through his connections he managed to get his wife’s phone records “I made a request to the head of Prosecution but they told me I couldn’t get this information, later through a lawyer from Peja I managed to get a part of them” he said.
She does not admit to sending these messages and claims that her husband invented the story in order to gain full custody of their son.

The head of the Prosecution of Gjakova, Shpresa Bakija said that she refused to give the messages to the parties. She also denied to have given the messages to the husband’s lawyer.

“I told them according to the law I can’t give you those messages if the case goes to the court, and this one makes a request to have the messages I will give them” Bakija said.

Bakija said that she cannot explain how the messages leaked from her office, if this was done by the lawyer she is still not aware and does not know how they got a hold of them.

The Prosecution will now follow the case and find out whom and how the messages were leaked since they are considered confidential information from the office of the Prosecution.

Vushtria at Risk of Explosion

On September 29, 2014 “Justice in Kosovo” broadcasted the risk of explosion due to the ammoniac canisters found within Llamkos factory, in the city of Vushtria.

An investigation made by “Justice in Kosovo” showed reports of state authorities that emphasized that citizen of Vushtri can be at risk of a gas and ammoniac explosion.

The investigation also shows that the public security institutions have not taken any precautions to avoid the risk.The problem with the ammoniac in the Llamkos depots started in last June when KEDS cut the electricity to Llamkos factory.

The electricity in this factory above all the functions on the production line is needed to keep to control the ammoniac tanks.In case the ammoniac canisters explode, the experts have calculated that inhabitants living 5 up to 7 kilometers near Llamkos factory are threatened.

The risk for explosion and technical failures is also ascertained by the inspectors of the Emergency Management Agency.

The officials of the Emergency Department in Vushtri warned that there was a serious risk and also explained how all the institutions are aware of this risk and no precautions have been taken. According to them, no one is in charge of the depots and if someone enters it is a dangerous situation.

The inhabitants told “Justice in Kosovo” that they are scared. They say that they see firefighters cooling the canisters, which according to chief of the firefighters, if exposed to the sun is at risk of exploding.

Officials from Llamkos denied the possibility of any explosion. They even said that their tanks are almost empty and are safe.
According to them, the reservoirs have security valve are supervised by a security company.

 

Promotion of Police Officers

On September 22, 2014 “Justice in Kosovo” revealed how four lieutenants and a captain of the Kosovo Police are promoted, although not passing the written test.

The investigation which analyzed the results of the exams done by the Police of Kosovo showed that the police officers who didn’t even pass the test, only for the fact that they came from minority groups got promoted.

The explanation given by the police of Kosovo was that the promotion of the 5 police officers was purposely done to increase the number of supervisors that come from minority communities.

The Minister of Internal affairs Bajram Rexhepi didn’t comment on this case, saying he has not dealt with this process.
“The criteria of evaluating the officials of the Kosovo Police should be the same for all” said the deputy Nuredin Ibishi.

“As far as I know there is no other country that follows this practice, including countries that are compound of different minority groups like Kosovo”, he added.

On the second part of the program “Justice in Kosovo” was broadcasted the investigation regarding the causes of the death of the 21 year old Edon Petershani, who died after a fatal incident on the factory where he was working.

After 8 years his parents do not agree with the decision of the court, and when they went to ask for the death certificate they found out that their son’s case was closed.

The judge of the case Ilmi Hoxha didn’t want to comment; he said that it was closed after 6 years.

The prosecutor who prepared this subject and did all the investigations said that he agreed with the sentence and he didn’t claim.
The family of the victim claims that the judgment process was not fair and there were a lot of irregularities during the process of preparing the investigation file.