Tag: Kosovo

The workshop was delivered by Kreshnik Gashi, editor-in-chief at BIRN Kosovo’s Kallxo.com website, and focused on the state’s vision for preventing radicalism and violent extremism that leads to terrorism.

Eleven representatives from the various institutions participated in the workshop.

The workshop was the sixth held by BIRN Kosovo as part of the Resilient Community Programme, which is funded by the Global Community Engagement and Resilience Fund, GCERF.

 

Activity kicked off with presentation of a report, “(Un)Safe Internet” and continued with the presentation and discussion of the panel.

This was composed of Kreshnik Gashi, member of the Kosovo Press Council and correspondent of Reporters without Borders for Kosovo and managing editor of KALLXO.com; Rajko Jovanovic, from the Gracanica-based the NGO Communication for Social Development; Visar Prebreza, Managing Editor at KALLXO.com; and Ivan Miljkovic, journalist with Riznica portal.

The panelists raised the issue of the danger, especially to young people, of privacy, identity and integrity violations on the Internet. The debate concluded that dubious media use inaccurate and disinformation to disorientate the public and draw attention from the truth, inciting hatred and compromising the security of individuals, groups, communities regardless of ethnic, religious or cultural affiliations by creating a false image of the same.

The panel recommended increased caution when using social networks and emphasized the legal consequences that the individuals may face through different types of interaction on these social media platforms.

The youngsters participating in this debate expressed their experience with social networks, denouncing negative phenomena in the environments where they interact but also with the aim of promoting positive initiatives.

This activity was carried out within the UNMIK-supported project “Addressing disinformation through fact-checking journalism”.

 

 

BIRN monitored corruption cases from January 1, 2022, onwards using a specific methodology designed for the compilation of this report. The methodology included directly monitoring court hearings and analysing all decisions relating to the 10 corruption cases that are part of the report.

Monitoring was carried out at all of Kosovo’s Basic Courts and at the Court of Appeals. This process included monitoring more than 50 court hearings dealing with corruption cases and analysing the associated documents, from those documenting the investigative phase to those detailing the final decisions, in all instances of justice in the country.

The report therefore reflects the progress of each case from the initial investigation stage onwards, comprising assessment of the quality and impact of the in-depth investigation at the judicial appeals stage. Special attention is paid to the duration of court proceedings and the quality of decisions taken by the courts in these cases, which have been set as a priority for Kosovo’s justice system.

The report also includes individual summary analyses of all monitored cases, chronologically detailing the key moments in the handling of each case.

At the end of the report, BIRN also includes recommendations to justice institutions, such as the Kosovo Judicial Council, KJC, the Kosovo Prosecutorial Council, KPC, and the Academy of Justice, as well as the heads of the courts and prosecution offices.

BIRN’s main recommendations are that the KJC, in cooperation with the Academy of Justice, organise supplementary training for judges and prosecutors who handle corruption cases, with a particular focus on the nature of corruption, the importance of publicising judgments, sentencing policies, drafting judgments and conducting financial investigations.

BIRN also recommends that corruption cases be prioritised by judges and that the KJC and heads of Kosovo’s courts should take measures against judges responsible for excessively prolonging these cases.

Click here for the report on Albanian and English.

This activity is implemented as part of the “Media Strengthening the Rule of Law in Kosovo” project, supported by the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation through the Italian embassy in Pristina.

BIRN monitored terrorism cases from January 1, 2022, onwards using a specific methodology designed for the compilation of this report. The methodology included directly monitoring court hearings and analysing all decisions relating to the 12 terrorism cases that are part of the report.

Monitoring took place at the Special Department of the Basic Court in Prishtina, as the only competent court for handling such cases. The process included monitoring more than 20 court hearings and analysing other documents dealing with terrorism cases, from those documenting the investigative phase to those detailing the final decisions, in all instances of justice.

The report therefore reflects the progress of each case from the initial investigation stage onwards, including an assessment of the quality and impact of the in-depth investigation at the judicial appeals stage. Special attention is paid to the duration of court proceedings and the quality of decisions taken by the courts in these cases, which have been set as a priority for Kosovo’s justice system.

The report also includes individual summary analyses of all monitored cases, chronologically detailing the key moments in the handling of each case.

At the end of the report, BIRN included recommendations to justice institutions, such as the Kosovo Judicial Council, KJC, the Kosovo Prosecutorial Council, KPC, and the Academy of Justice, as well as the heads of the courts and prosecution offices.

The main recommendations are that the KJC, in cooperation with the Academy of Justice, organise supplementary training for judges and prosecutors who handle terrorism cases, with a particular focus on the nature of terrorism, the importance of publicising judgments, sentencing policies, drafting judgments, financial investigation, the identification of recruiters and money laundering.

BIRN also recommends that terrorism cases be prioritised by judges and that the KJC and heads of courts should take measures against judges responsible for excessively prolonging these cases.

Click here for the report on Albanian and English.

This activity is implemented as part of the “Media Strengthening the Rule of Law in Kosovo” project, supported by the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation through the Italian embassy in Prishti

The workshop, delivered by Labinot Leposhtica, legal officer at KALLXO.com, focused on the state’s vision for preventing radicalism and the violent extremism that leads to terrorism, as well as reflecting this vision to the public.

Eleven representatives from the aforementioned institutions participated in the workshop, three of whom were women.

This workshop was the fifth held by BIRN Kosovo as part of the “Resilient Community Program”, which is funded by the Global Community Engagement and Resilience Fund, GCERF.

 

The training brought together 23 participants, 12 of whom were women and 11 of whom were from minority communities, such as Serbian, Roma, Egyptian, and Bosnian.

The participants were from the University “Haxhi Zeka” Law Faculty, media, civil society organizations and media outlets, including: Gracanica Online, Radio Gjakova, Radio Goraždevac, Peja në Fokus online platform, Roma in Action, Mladi Volonteri, and NPU.

The training was delivered by BIRN editors Kreshnik Gashi and Visar Prebreza, who have extensive experience in carrying out investigations and reporting, as well as in delivering training activities for media members and other relevant stakeholders.

Participants learn about topics such as advanced international fact-checking standards, techniques for fact-checking in gender issues and reporting on gender discrimination through traditional and online media.

The training was organized as part of the “Addressing Misinformation Through Fact-Based Journalism” project, which is implemented by BIRN Kosovo and supported by UNMIK.

The aim of the project is to help combat the spread of fake news and disinformation in Kosovo by raising the public’s awareness of these phenomena, while promoting and supporting fact-checking journalism.

 

The training brought together 23 journalists, nine of whom were women, from different communities in Kosovo who represented: Ulpiana Press, Gracanica Online, Radio Television of Gracanica, Riznica, representatives of Civil Society organisations (The Ideas Partnership, Balkan Sunflowers Kosova, and CPT), and students from Graçanica, Prishtina and Mitrovica.

Participants learned more about the techniques of fact-checking standards and how to report based on them, what reporting discrimination is, and how to promote media literacy through traditional and online media.

The training was delivered by BIRN editors Kreshnik Gashi and Visar Prebreza, who have extensive experience in carrying out investigations and reporting, as well as in providing training for media and relevant stakeholders.

“As a long-experienced journalist, it is always a pleasure to learn more about treating discrimination as a topic in news and on providing fact-checked news and information,” stated one of the participants, Jelena Mirkovic, from Radio Television of Gracanica.

The training was organised as part of the “Addressing Misinformation Through Fact-Based Journalism” project, which is implemented by BIRN Kosovo and supported by UNMIK.

The aim of the project is to help combat the spread of fake news and disinformation in Kosovo by raising the public’s awareness of these phenomena, while promoting and supporting fact-checking journalism.