Category: News and Events

Kosovo Police officers, from the patrol and traffic unit, had a conflict between each other after they arrived on the location of the accident. The two police officers pointed a gun toward the other officer who happened to be a sergeant. The Kosovo Police has kept the case under wraps, and the police officers that were involved in the conflict were suspended for 48 hours. After returning to work, the police officers are being investigated by the Kosovo Police Inspectorate.

The police officers went to the scene of a car accident, which was on the road between Komoran and Shtime, in order to prevent the possible conflict between the victims of the accident, and to take the necessary measures that determine the guilty person. The police however got into a conflict with the other police unit that was already there.

Witnesses told “Justice in Kosovo” that two police officers pointed their guns toward the sergeant, but the civilians watching did not let the situation escalate.

The police patrol came from the Shtime police unit; meanwhile a member of the patrol, Sergeant Naim Rexha, immediately called the traffic unit to do the necessary measures. The sergeant was accompanied by one of his colleagues.  

Witness Isa Dreshaj told “Justice in Kosovo” that the traffic unit patrol arrived late and they parked their car, which blocked the other patrol car. Dreshaj says that the sergeant Rexha asked them to remove the car, but they were offended and said “Who are you to give us orders?”

According to the eyewitness, during the confrontation, one of the traffic unit members hit sergeant Rexha with a notebook. At that moment two traffic unit members pulled their official guns.

Hysen Kurtbobaj, another witness, also said that the confrontation heightened when Rexha asked them why they were late and warned them that he was going to notify their supervisors about the delay.

Beside Rexha, the others that were involved in the incident were two police officers from the traffic unit, Sejdi Rashiti and Vesel Bytyqi.

The conflict between the police officers was concealed by the Kosovo Police, and the three police officers that were involved in the conflict did not want to discuss issue with “Justice in Kosovo.” They told “Justice in Kosovo” that the inside regulation of Kosovo Police does not allow them to talk.

The Kosovo Police spokesperson for the Ferizaj region, Agim Gashi, told “Justice in Kosovo” that the two police officers were suspended.  

“All three police officers were suspended for 48 hours; meanwhile, the Kosovo Police Inspectorate is investigating the penal act,” said Arber Zeka, Kosovo Police Inspectorate officer.

The citizens of Mitrovica who have won civil disputes are not being able to execute them for approximately four years. One of the cases is the Halili family. They waited four years and their case is still not being executed.

The court in the North Mitrovica was occupied by the Serbs and they fired all the Kosovo judges. Form that time the judges could not return to the court and the cases were blocked. The court of Mitrovica currently is placed in Vushtrri.

The head of the Basic Court of Mitrovica Kada Bunjaku-Perquku said, “The citizens of Mitrovica are complaining and I do not blame them because their cases are not being resolved since 2008. There are 3, 926 non executed cases. We only deal with the cases that urgent.”

Among the 3, 926 non executed cases are also the seven cases of the lawyer Vehbi Beqiri. The lawyer Beqiri said, “The lawyers of Mitrovica are in trouble with their clients because they want their cases to be resolved as soon as possible. This situation is a breach of human rights.”

The municipality of Mitrovica has also problems with the Court of Mitrovica. The municipality is not getting the taxes from the high rise constructions.

In the end, the report deals with the problem of free legal aid. Free legal aid is a right of citizens who cannot afford to engage a professional who offers professional judicial services. Citizens with social assistance, citizens who do not have financial income, single mothers, refugees, displaced persons, elders, citizens with special needs, minors, women, children, police administration, education administration, civil servants administration, and others have the right to ask for free legal aid.

Free legal aid is provided by the Agency for Free Legal Aid. Besim Fierza is one of the citizens who asked for free legal aid.

DritaRegjepi, the head of the Agency for Free Legal Aid, said, “We have provided free legal aid for more than 18,000 cases. Approximately 2, 000 cases are still going through judicial procedures”.

According to the law, free legal aid is provided in four stages. It starts with the advice and it ends with engaging a lawyer for the party.

The criteria that the citizens should fulfil to ask for free legal aid is: qualification criterion, financial criterion, and juridical criterion.  

Justice in Kosovo also broadcasted a report about an attempted looting in the segment “Police”.

With the cooperation of Kosovo Police, Justice in Kosovo has managed to produce a report over a search in perpetrators’ house; the perpetrators were also suspected for hiding illegal weapons.

Regional Investigative Unit operates secretly and its mission is to detect heavy crimes, such as looting or attempted murder.

Two judges from Suhareka, Robert Tunaj and Shaban Zeqiraj, were accused of favoritism. The two lawyers were roommates during their college years. The Disciplinary Prosecution’s Office is investigating the case based on a lawyer’s complaints who claims that the judges obliged that the parties she was defending to change the lawyer, and accelerated the cases of their friends.

Three parties that were defended by the lawyer Sabrije Sylaj submitted complaints against two judges of the Basic Court of Suhareka. In these complaints, the parties declared that the judges asked them to change the lawyer, so Sabrije Sylaj could not defend them.

In one of the cases, which had to do with the proof of ownership, Judge Zeqiraj urgently recommended to Aziz Kabashaj to change his lawyer if he wanted his case to be solved. The judge recommended the lawyer Besim Kuci, who was one of the preferred lawyers of Judge Zeqiraj. However, Kabashaj died before his case was closed and he did not change the lawyer. Sylaj always defended him.

Kabashaj left a written statement that was proved in court on April 18, 201, which showed the conversation that he had with the judge Shaban Zeqiraj:

“When Zeqiraj asked me who prepared the charges and found out that my lawyer was Sabrije Sylaj, he shouted saying that Sylaj knows nothing.”

According to the letter that Kabashaj left, Judge Zeqiraj told him to contact Kuci: “He is my friend and he is the best in this field,” according to the letter.

Kabashaj asked Kuci to defend him, but as soon as Kuci found out that the authorized lawyer was his colleague Sylaj, he refused to defend him.

Zeqiraj denied the Sylaj’s claims and he said that what she said is not true at all: “If only one lawyer accepts this fact, then I am ready to resign from the judge’s position,” said Zeqiraj.

However, Kuci’s name and his number were written on a piece of paper that was given to Kabashaj by the Zeciraj. Sylaj claims that with this piece of paper was given to Kabashaj so he could change lawyers.

Zeqiraj denies this claim: That paper was written by me, but that was not the purpose of this letter.”  

In addition, Justice in Kosovo saw two of Sylaj’s cases with the number 65/12 and 85/13. The first one was submitted in September 2012, and the second one in February 2013. Both of the cases are related to divorce, and Sylaj claims that they were not addressed until May of 2013.

Sylaj compares her cases to the other lawyer’s cases and she says that her cases are purposely postponed. According to Sylaj, a case that was defended by the lawyers Durak Fandaj and Natal Bullakaj was finished within 10 days. Fandaj confirmed that this case was finished faster.

Natal Bullakaj confirms that Judge Tunaj is his friend and that they were roommates during the university years, but he also said that he never took advantage of that.

Finally, in another case which is related to family rights, Judge Zeqiraj told the party Aferdita Bajraktari not to contact Sylaj. In a letter that was confirmed in court on January 11, 2013, Bajraktari complained about Judge Zeqiraj. According to Bajraktari, Zeqiraj said: “Do not engage in the lawyer Sylaj to defend you, otherwise I will never finish your case”.

In July 2007, police officer Xhemajl Zeqiri was injured by a person whom he had stopped in traffic.  The person that attacked the police officer had parked his car outside of the parking space. The attacker was arrested and he was sent at the police station. Whereas, the injured police officer was sent at the hospital for medical treatment.

Surprisingly, the person that attacked the police officer was released a few hours later even though he attacked him while the police officer was performing his duty. His case was sent to the Minor Crimes Court instead of sending it at the Prosecution.  There are doubts that someone inside the police station has misinformed the case prosecutor or that someone within the police force is interfering with the procedures

Police officer Zeqiri, explained the case for Justice in Kosovo. In 2010 he voluntarily resigned from the Police of Kosovo. He was not satisfied with the work done there even though he has worked as police officers for eight years in many divisions. All the rules, laws, and procedures have been broken and this is the reason why he decided to resign.

In addition, he explains that on the day this event happened he was issuing a ticket for someone else when this person parked the car in a place that was not meant for parking. As a result, the police officer asked the person to provide documents on his identity and the driving license, but the citizen refused to do so. Consequently, he attacked the police officer. “He broke my hand wrist and now I cannot feel my fingers”.

The case prosecutor, Shaban Spahiu, confirms that the case was sent to the Minor Crimes Court and not to the prosecution as it should have happened in a normal procedure. He said, “I was not aware that the police officer was attacked. The police officers told me that one police officer was hampered while performing his duty.

A spokesperson from the Kosovo Police said that they told the prosecutor about the incident and the prosecutor was aware about the case. The prosecutor sent the case to the Minor Crimes Court. On the other hand, Shaban Spahiu is sure that he was not aware about the case completely. “If I had known that a police officer was injured, I would send the case to the prosecution immediately”.

BIRN monitor, Erlina Tafa, said, “If the police did not inform the prosecution about the case then immediately a criminal investigation should be initiated with the purpose of identifying the perpetrator”.

Thus far, the prosecution and the Kosovo Police have not clarified the situation. It is still unknown who was responsible for not sending the case to the prosecution immediately. 

Castresana is a Spanish prosecutor who prosecuted officials in South America like former President of Chile Augusto Pinochet and Alfonso Portillo, former President of Argentina.

Prosecutor Castresana explained that “War crimes are usually committed in situations, locations and moments where there is not much evidence left. Usually there is lack of evidence because no one says ‘I did a massacre here.’”Therefore war crime cases depend entirely on witnesses.  

“Media should always be present in the court room. When people see that a particular person was murdered, burned or raped, they will agree with the punishment. There is no magical formula, but the key point to crime prosecution is the transparency,” said Castresana.

Catresana has prosecuted many war crimes, corruption crimes, and organized crimes in Argentina, Chiles, Mexico, and Guatemala.  The Center for Investigation, Documentation and Publication invited him to Kosovo to give a speech to Kosovo judges and prosecutors.

Castresana is also known for initiating a case against the former dictator Augusto Pinochet, who ruled Chile for eighteen years. Pinochet was arrested based on the international law of human rights after he was prosecuted for killing Chilean civilians during his dictatorship. When prosecutors asked Pinochet about murdering oppositions, he answered: “I don’t remember, but it is not true. If it happened, I do not remember.”

In addition, the prosecutor says that Kosovo should have a clear plan of where it should be after ten years and should ask for some international advice: “If you need the American marshals, ask the embassy for them and they will come. If you need the advice from an Italian organized crime prosecutor, you can ask them too,” said Castresano.

“My first impression is that people of Kosovo should understand that democracy does not only imply free elections system. Free elections are very important, they are even a prerequisite, but free elections are only a part of democracy; the other part is the rule of law, added Castresano.

Towards the end of the program, there was a report about the role of cooperative witnesses in penal procedures. Cooperative witnesses are individuals who are suspected of committing, but are still witnesses of that crime. This person can be a witness until he is sentenced in the final verdict. They are used as witnesses in order to solve and prevent criminal cases. An individual that organized two or more persons or led a particular criminal group in a crime cannot be declared cooperative witnesses.

According to the law, these individuals receive a more lenient sentence as a reward for their evidence. One of the first cases of the cooperative witnessing was Nazim Bllaca. Bllaca helped imprison eight criminals and because of this Bllaca received a more lenient sentence than the others that were involved.

 

The judge for serious crimes Elmaze Fazliu, who currently works in the General Department of the Basic Court, has breached the law in two cases denying the right to complain to the parties that were involved in the case that she was judging. Fazliu still works as a judge, whereas the Disciplinary Prosecutor’s office is investigating the case.

Last April, Gresa Shabani threatened Anduena Mekuli. Shabani is currently the executive director of ‘Croatia Sigurim.’ The charges against Shabani were pressed on the April 3, 2013, by prosecutor Hivzi Bajraktari. Shabani was found guilty for threatening Anduena Makolli and had to pay a 300 euro fine.

Shabani’s case was reviewed in the Basic Court of Prishtina by Judge Elmaze Fazliu, on June 6. Two weeks before the verdict, Shabani requested to accelerate the lawsuit.

“The reason behind the acceleration of the lawsuit is because I am a female and a familiar person. Also, I wanted to finish this as soon as possible because this has a bad impact on my career, work and credibility as an intellectual person,” Shabani said.

In the judicial proceeding, Shabani admitted that she threatened Anduena Mekuli and she expressed regret.

On June 6, Judge Fazliu announced to the verdict and on the list of the verdict, she claimed that the parties do not have any complaints. Based on the Penal Procedure Code, a verdict can be powerful only if 15 days have passed from the verdict.

Mekuli, who found out about the verdict only after four days was not satisfied with the decision and she wanted to make a complaint. “When someone threatens you and ends up with 300 Euro fine it is not a fair decision. I would complain if I had the chance,” said Mekuli; whereas, Shabani did not comment about the case.

Judge Fazliu did not want to make any comment about the case and she said that the Disciplinary Prosecution’s Office of the Kosovo Judicial Council will deal with this issue. This decision was canceled after one day by the head of Basic Court, Hamdi Ibrahimi.

Judge Fazliu was involved in another case also where she denied the involved parties the right to complain. The other case was similar to the first one where two people were accused for defamation and were not allowed to complain because the judge finished immediately.

In addition, the Head of Basic Court, Hamdi Ibrahimi, started a disciplinary procedure against Judge Fazliu. “I was obliged to start a disciplinary procedure and to ask for the suspension of this judge because these are issues that I as a judge cannot overcome,” said Ibrahimi.

On the April, 18 2013, Fazliu sent a complaint to the Kosovo Judicial Council, Supreme Court, Appeal Court and EULEX against the decision of Ibrahimi to transfer her from the serious crimes department to the department for general crimes. Fazliu asked these institutions to take action against this decision.

“Justice in Kosovo” also prepared a report about how the Kosovo Police Inspectorate operates. Even though they are called to protect the law, police officers sometimes are contradicting the law.

The Kosovo Police Inspectorate was established in order to deal with police officers that violate the law. Up until 2011, the Police of Kosovo dealt with these violations, but to avoid every possible conflict of interest, Ministry for Internal Affairs established an independent section that investigates police officers.

 

Among the things discussed were the conditions within the prisons across Kosovo. The debate also included discussions on people with political power who are in prisons, and the possession of weapons and mobile phones in prison.  To discuss these issues, Justice in Kosovo interviewed the head of EULEX Correctional Service, Stephan Johnson.

Stephan Johnson is from United Kingdom. He worked many years in the Prison Service in Wales and England as a senior officer and prison security officer. Mr. Johnson initially worked as a United Nation Mission in Kosovo officer, from 2001 to 2004. He returned to Kosovo in 2008 and he is currently the head of the EULEX Correctional Unit.

In 2001, Mr. Johnson worked for UNMIK in prisons of Dubrava, Lipjan, and Prizren. Mr. Johnson says that there are many differences comparing current time prisons with the prisons in 2001. One of the main differences is that the international prison administration has stopped and the EULEX only monitors and supports the Kosovo colleagues.

“We have to admit and recognize that the Kosovo Correction Service is a young institution”, said Mr. Johnson. He also mentioned that there are many challenges that Kosovo Institution, in this case Correctional Services, has to overcome.

In addition, “the conditions in Kosovo Prisons are acceptable and are the same as the prisons in the region. I hear many times negative comments about the prisons, but I must say that people have to stop and think how much has Kosovo achieved in the last years”, added Stephan Johnson.

Moreover, the staff working in Correctional Services is doing a tremendous job, but their job is not an easy one. Their job is very difficult to perform because they are exposed to intimidation and dangerous threats. Mr. Johnson also mentioned that in Kosovo Prisons there are some Influencing Prisoners and they exert a certain amount of pressure on the staff of Correctional Services. Such state of affairs associated with threats was attributed to be one of the reasons why the staff might hesitate to accept that there is smuggling into the prison.  The Kosovo Correctional Service is expected to manage the prisoners that could not be caught by the Kosovo Police and could not be judged by Kosovo Judges.

Something that is worth mentioning is that the prisons of Kosovo need more financial support, said Johnson.

Finally, in England every person that wants to join the Correctional Service should pass through national services. Their background is checked by the national services to make sure that they do not have previous criminal convictions and to make sure that they broke no law, said Mr. Johnson.

Justice in Kosovo also contacted the former director of Dubrava Prison, Haki Maxharraj, and asked him if there is misuse of the prison leaves.

 “At that time, when I was the director of the prison, the weekend leaves were given based on the law, more precisely the article 95 and 96 of the Law on Execution of Criminal Sanctions”, said Haki Maxharraj.

 

In 2005, how did Endrit Suka from Bllaca, near Suhareka, die while he was playing with his friends? Who was the truck driver who hit the 8-year-old boy? What was his mother, Fatime Suka’s reaction after she received the news that her son was dead? Why hasn’t this case been solved eight years later? Why were the investigations for this case stopped? What does the prosecutor of Basic Prosecution in Prizren say? Why, according to the representative of the injured party, were investigations dropped without the police and a medical examiner’s report? What were the recommendations of a report by the Ombudsperson? Why did the Ombudsperson request to start the investigations about three justice officials in this case? What does the head of Prosecution’s Disciplinary Office say?

On March 25, 2005, Endrit Suka lost his life as a result of an accident while he was playing in his neighborhood, in the village Bllaca, Suharekë. As soon as he got home he ate and went out to play with some friends. “After 30 minutes they told me that my son was dead,” said Fatime Suka.

The suspected perpetrator of the accident is Dritant Derguti, from Rahovec. Derguti said that while he was driving he saw a young boy lying in the street and he was around 70 meters behind: “I did not notice anything. 60- 70 meters after I stopped and I saw the dead body on the left side of the road. I don’t believe that I was the one who hit the eight-year-old boy.

After the accident, Durguti was detained for 22 days. After the detention, the prosecutor of this case, Hashim Çollaku, who at the time was the Prosecutor of the District Prosecution in Prizren, decided to close the investigations related to this case.

The Suka family claims that they were never informed about the investigation closing and that the prosecution had no right to stop the investigations. The lawyer of the injured party, Sabrie Sylaj, explained that “There was no report released by the police or forensic medicine. The investigations were stopped only based on one witness and the traffic expert’s expertise.” Based on the penal procedure, all the evidence should be taken into consideration such as the police report and the forensic medicine report.

Sylaj claims that she did not see the police report or forensic medicine report, and neither did the Suka family. Current head prosecutor Hoxha claims that the Suka family received the notification regarding the closure of the investigation: “We have evidence that the Suka family has received the notification, but later we found out that Endrit’s father was sick at that time,” said Hoxha.

Since Fatime Suka lost her right to complain because the notification was submitted to an individual in poor health, the Basic Prosecution in Prizren Endrit’s mother another chance.  However, even the second chance was not successful because the head prosecutor, Sylë Hoxha, had wrongly guided Fatime Suka to press charges in the Municipality Court of Prizren.

The head of the Basic Court in Prizren, Ymer Hoxha, says that the Municipality Court of Suhareka was obliged to delegate the case to the District Court of Prizren. After all these procedures, the Suka family exceeded all the legal deadlines to ask for justice regarding their son’s death. However, Fatime Suka was not ready to give up, and she decided to address the Ombudsperson, Sami Kurteshi. Now, Kurteshi asked to recommence the investigation.

Based on the data of Kosovo Judicial Council, in 2012 the court treated around 8,000 cases concerning dangerous traffic conditions. 3349 were resolved, whereas 4613 were left unresolved.

Justice in Kosovo also prepared a short report about inheritance review through notaries.

This has made it possible for citizens to win the right on their inherited cases in less than one hour. Citizens previously had to wait for months before their cases were looked at due to the overload of court cases.

Arbena Shehu, head of Kosovo Notary Chamber, explained: “The notary reviews the inheritance faster than the court.”

The following questions were asked: How were two people that are wanted by Interpol able to change their first and last names? Did they change their names to escape prosecution? What do the officials in charge have to say? What measures have been taken to prevent this from happening again? Who did the police catch? How did the suspects manage to change their names at the Municipality of Prishtina?

Enver Aliu, a suspect involved with contraband containing narcotic substances, has successfully changed his identity in the Municipality of Vitia. Interpol is seeking his arrest. Aliu changed his name even though those under legal investigation cannot change their name or surname. His new identity card released on the May 11, 2012, states that Enver Aliu is now Mehmet Mjaku.

Aliu had no right to change his identity under legal investigation. In 2008, the law for personal names was enforced and states that individuals who want to change his or her name or surname should not be linked to a legal investigation:

“This person is known to the anti-narcotics unit and there is data, which shows that this person is involved in activities that have to do with the narcotics market,” said the spokesperson of the Ministry for Internal Affairs, Ivo Kotovski.

To verify if Enver Aliu and Mehmet Mjaku are the same person, Justice in Kosovo checked the personal number of both persons and they both had the same ID number. The Police of Kosovo also confirmed that it is the same person: “The person that you are referring to is wanted by the Macedonian authorities,” said Baki Kelani, a spokesperson for the Police of Kosovo.

After Aliu changed his identity, the Police of Kosovo could not find him, and neither could Interpol. Even those living in the Dobresh village, where Aliu previously lived, do not know Aliu or Mjaku.

The Municipality Administration Sector of Vitia with the decision number 03-201/245/2012 approved Aliu’s request, even though there is an international arrest warrant: “We have requested data from the Court of Vitia who verifies that this person has no penal precedent,” said the Head of Administration in Vitia, Besim Halimi.

The officials in the Municipality of Vitia say that they went through all the legal procedures.

Skender Shefkiu, the director of Basic Court in Vitia, said that in court there are no data for persons who are wanted by Interpol and this is the reason why Aliu has been endowed with evidence that he is not under investigation.

Aliu is not the only one who has changed his or her name under investigation. A similar case was found in the Municipality of Rahovec where Muharrem Mazreku changed his name to Ilir Berisha. The Police of Kosovo declared that Switzerland released an international search warrant for Mazreku.

In these cases, changing identities happened because the municipality procedures for the change of identity did not require police certification.

For this reason, the Ministry of Internal Affairs decided in July 2012 that the municipality requires that the Kosovo Police provides them with evidence before identities are changed.

According to municipality officials, the new procedure created conditions that denied some individuals the applications to change his or her identity. The Head of Administration in the municipality of Rahovec, Samir Mustafa says that there have been two cases were individuals were denied the right to change his or her identity.

Around one year ago, the Kosovo Government made the decision to stop grit exploitation in the regional rivers. This decision was signed by the Prime Minister Hashim Thaci. Thaci put in charge the Independent Commission for Mines and Minerals to implement the decision. However, the lakes continue to be exploited.

On March 23, 2011, the team of “Justice in Kosovo” accompanied the mine and environment inspectors while they were confiscating an excavator from the river bed.

After identifying that the unlicensed excavator belonging to Arben Rrustemi exploited grit in the Gllaviqice village, the inspectors’ team confiscated the excavator. While they were transporting the excavator, a bulldozer, which was parked in a company Vellezerit Rrustemi’s parking lot, attacked them to destroy the excavator.

The regional inspector, Refki Morina, who was part of the action, said that he felt threatened by the owners of the excavator and they told him that he would be in danger if he did not help take the excavator back. “That same day, Arben Rrustemi and two other persons followed me while I was going back to Prishtina,” said Morina.

Morina also said that the case was sent in to the police station and the police confirmed it. He was threatened by the Rrustemi family not just once, but several times. The Kosovo Police has pressed penal charges and has sent the case into the prosecution of Peja, according to a spokesperson from the police unit in Peja.

Such threats have forced Refki Morina to stay home. He said that the institutional problems now have become familiar problems because he is scared to leave home without having family members nearby.

People who illegally exploit grit from the rivers usually begin working at 4:00 PM because inspectors finish their shifts during that time and the inspectors do not have the chance to catch them in the act.

Nuredin Bislimi, Head of the Independent Commission for Mines and Minerals, said: “It is very difficult to monitor them all the time because the inspectors are threatened and they should be accompanied by the police all the time.” He also said that the sentences for the companies are not being executed because the court is postponing the cases.

“Justice in Kosovo” also prepared a short report about the agreements regarding the guilty plea.

In this report, the case that occurred on June 14, 2013, in the Basic Court of Peja is being reviewed. After two court hearings, former judge Kolë Puka was sentenced to a year and a half in prison. Kolë Puka was accused for misusing his official position. Puka has made an agreement with the case prosecutor Ali Rexha.

The case judge has the right to make an agreement with the suspected perpetrator if he accepts the crime and the court will reduce his or her sentence.