Albanian Language Media:

• Kurti - to QUINT ambassadors: Kosovo ready to sign basic agreement, Serbia refusing (media)
• Szunyog on Ursula von der Leyen's meetings: Waiting for fruitful discussions (Klan)
• Sources from Special Prosecution: “Almost all terrorists of Sept 24 are identified” (AP)
• Specialist Prosecutor’s Office raids houses of Thaci’s former advisors (media)
• Court sentences Bozovic to seven months in prison for incidents in the north (Koha)
• Delawie: The EU really needs to stop coddling Vucic (media)
• PDK: We do not vote international agreements without setting date for elections (Reporteri)
• Kurti expected to report to Assembly on developments in dialogue on Friday (media)

Serbian Language Media:

• Vucic: I will call elections on Wednesday or Thursday (media)
• Serbia Against Violence parties will offer cooperation to right wing parties if need be (media)
• Less: It's no secret that London has more understanding for Pristina than other Western actors (Kosovo Online)
• Janjic: Brussels talks ended without an agreement, but showed a change in work methodology (Kim radio, Slobodno srpski)
• Milovan Bozovic from Zubin Potok sentenced to seven months in prison (KoSSev, media)
• Larger number of Kosovo police present in Zubin Potok, works on police station construction continue (Kosovo Online)
• "Fatherland" on construction of police station: “The brutality of Pristina while Belgrade is busy collecting voters” (KiM radio)
• Office for KiM: Tractor stolen from Djuric family in Osojane village (Kontakt plus radio, KiM radio, N1) 
• Vucic receives farewell visit from Albanian ambassador (Tanjug)

Opinion:

• Palokaj: Vucic continues to successfully challenge the EU (Koha)

International:

• Kosovo’s Report Reveals Banjska Terrorist Attack Details (Prishtina Insight)
• After BIRN Investigation, Prishtina Court Sentenced 13 Police Officers for Smuggling Operations (Prishtina Insight)

 

 

Albanian Language Media  

 

Kurti - to QUINT ambassadors: Kosovo ready to sign basic agreement, Serbia refusing (media) 

Kosovo Prime Minister Albin Kurti held a meeting with the accredited ambassadors of the QUINT countries in Kosovo in order to provide the latest information on the dialogue between Kosovo and Serbia.

“Today, I met with accredited ambassadors in Kosovo to provide them with the latest updates on the dialogue, as is our customary practice. I began by expressing gratitude to the EU and the U.S. for their efforts to get the dialogue back on track after the Sept 24 terrorist attack.

I also emphasised;l that if it were solely up to Kosovo, we would have reached an agreement and would already be in the process of implementing it. Kosovo is still willing to sign the Basic Agreement, the Implementation Annex and the October 21 draft. Serbia continues to refuse,” Kurti wrote on X platform.

Szunyog on Ursula von der Leyen's meetings: Waiting for fruitful discussions (Klan)

The head of the EU office in Kosovo, Tomas Szunyog, has welcomed the president of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen. Szunyog emphasized that she will meet with President Vjosa Osmani and Prime Minister Albin Kurti, adding that she expects fruitful discussions.

"I welcomed the president of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, who arrived today in Kosovo, as part of her four-day visit to North Macedonia, Kosovo, Montenegro, Serbia and Bosnia and Herzegovina".

"She will meet with President Vjosa Osmani and Prime Minister Albin Kurti. Looking forward to fruitful discussions!” Szunyog wrote.

Sources from Special Prosecution: “Almost all terrorists of Sept 24 are identified” (AP)

An unnamed source from the Special Prosecution of Kosovo told the news website that “the majority of terrorists that attacked Kosovo on September 24 when they entered from Serbia into Banjska of Zvecan have been identified”. The source said the investigation is ongoing and that the complete file has not been finalised yet. “We are conducting investigations every day and identifying the people that took part in the terrorist attack, through the traces that were left there. Every day we find out about new people that were involved there”.

Kosovo Police meanwhile told the news website that except for the confiscated weapons and what was presented in press conferences, they don’t have any new information for now.

Security commentators in Pristina, in interviews with the news website, argued that international institutions too must get involved in the investigations in order to have complete and detailed information about what happened in Banjska.

Former general of the Kosovo Security Force, Kadri Kastrati, criticised the lack of political readiness for international institutions to join the negotiations, he also said he was unsatisfied with a statement by Kosovo Prime Minister Albin Kurti who said that the attack in Banjska was organised by a group called “the Novi Sad clan”. “According to my information and studies, this is not about a clan from one part of Serbia, but rather prepared … by the President, the secret service, and the army. These people [the armed group] were prepared and directed by the state of Serbia,” he argued.

Kastrati said that “the weapons that were found clearly show that they are from Serbia and this was not an isolated case, but carefully planned to organise a kind of rebellion.”

Kastrati also warned that there could be more attacks “by small terrorist groups”. “Serbia will not stop at what happened on September 24. I don’t expect bigger groups to enter [Kosovo] but through smaller groups Serbia can enter and damage the police not only in the north but in the south too, therefore we need to be very cautious,” he said.

According to Kastrati, the institutions in Pristina should also search Serb churches in the south of Kosovo too. “I have my information that churches in Decan, in Peja, have weapons that they had collected at that time. There were reports that the churches are supporting terrorist groups from Serbia. They could have removed them. But institutions need to monitor the churches, because they can be nests of weapons too,” he claimed.

Security expert and professor, Fatmir Collaku, said in an interview with the news website that based on the investigations, it is clear that Serbia’s objective was the annexation of the north of Kosovo.

Specialist Prosecutor’s Office raids houses of Thaci’s former advisors (media)

Several news websites report this morning that the Specialist Prosecutor’s Office (SPO) of the Specialist Chambers is conducting a raid in the house of Blerim Shala, former advisor to former Kosovo President Hashim Thaci. Citing unnamed sources, Kosovapress news agency reports that several phones were confiscated during the search. 

Some news websites also report that the house of Bashkim Smakaj, another advisor to Thaci, is also being searched by the SPO.

Acting leader of the KLA War Veterans Organization, Faton Klinaku, reacted to the raids in a Facebook post saying “the raids of the Special [Court] are the latest spectacle. Pretending that they’re doing something and searching for something”.

Nacionale news website reports that Artan Behrami, also a former advisor to Thaci, criticised the Specialist Chambers by calling them “a fascist court” that “prosecutes, arrests and convicts only Albanians”. Behrami said in a Facebook post that the raids in the houses of Shala and Smakaj are “scandalous and unprecedented”. “This approach by the Prosecution is clear evidence that there is a tendency to stain all Albanians that contributed to freedom and state-building,” he said.

Court sentences Bozovic to seven months in prison for incidents in the north (Koha)

The Basic Court in Pristina has sentenced Milovan Bozovic to seven months in prison for the criminal act “participation in a mob that commits criminal acts and hooliganism” and the burning of vehicles in the north of Kosovo. 

Delawie: The EU really needs to stop coddling Vucic (media)

Several news websites report that former U.S. Ambassador to Kosovo, Greg Delawie, said today that the European Union “really needs to stop coddling” Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic. Delawie shared in a post on X an article by Prishtina Insight about the September 24th attack in Banjska in the north of Kosovo. “Interesting piece about Serbian participation in a terrorist attack in Kosovo’s Banjska that killed one police officer. The EU really needs to stop coddling Vucic,” Delawie wrote.

PDK: We do not vote international agreements without setting date for elections (Reporteri)

The leader of the PDK Parliamentary Group, Abelard Tahiri, has stated that international agreements will not be voted on without setting a date for elections.

"The position is very clear, our country is still under sections from the EU. We have reiterated it hundreds of times, we have voted for about 52 international agreements, they are about 860 million euros, these are debts for the citizens, the public debt has increased. What we are asking is to shorten the life of this government as soon as possible, we will not vote on these agreements until the days when we agree that we have the date for the extraordinary elections", Tahiri said at the press conference.

Kurti expected to report to Assembly on developments in dialogue on Friday (media)

The Democratic Party of Kosovo (PDK) and the Democratic League of Kosovo (LDK) have requested from the Kosovo Prime Minister Albin Kurti to report on Friday to the Assembly on the latest developments in the dialogue.

The head of the LDK Parliamentary Group, Arben Gashi, has said after the Assembly Presidency meeting that they expect the Prime Minister to be present.

"We are waiting to learn what has happened in terms of tightening the measure, and what has been agreed upon for the Association. There is no reason why the document was kept secret when it has already been accepted by the government", he said.

The head of the PDK Parliamentary Group, Abelard Tahiri, said that the Assembly Resolution obliges the Prime Minister to report on what has happened.

 

 

Serbian Language Media

 

Vucic: I will call elections on Wednesday or Thursday (media)

Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic said he will call elections on Wednesday or Thursday and added that he believes it important for people to be able to express their opinion.

“What is important is that people express their free will, that you can hear words of criticism, insults and slander, but that people rationally make a decision on the kind of future they want”, Vucic told Pink TV.

“Aleksandar Vucic – Serbia Must Not Stop” will be the ruling Serbian Progressive Party (SNS) election ticket according to some media. Vucic said the ticket name speaks of Serbia’s path that must not be interrupted. The Serbian President said there will be some novelties on the SNS ticket – some new political options, while some old ones will be dropped.

Serbia Against Violence parties will offer cooperation to right wing parties if need be (media)

Radomir Lazovic, the first on the list of Serbia Against Violence in Serbian elections, pointed out that "this is now a fight for every person" and that the first step after the change of government will be the fulfilment of all the demands of the protest.

Lazovic said that the cooperation agreement was reached much earlier with the signing of the document Victory Contract.

“We agreed to cooperate, in advance. Research has shown that there is a great potential for cooperation, that many people recognized something that can be a solution for this failing country of ours“, Lazovic said.

Asked whether he will cooperate with the right-wing parties in the event of victory in the elections, Lazovic states that if they are unable to form the government, “he will offer cooperation to the right-wing parties in the part where it is necessary“.

Less: It's no secret that London has more understanding for Pristina than other Western actors (Kosovo Online)

Timothy Less, associate of the Center for Geopolitics at the University of Cambridge, believes that the policy of the United Kingdom towards Kosovo is in line with the positions of the USA and the EU, but that it should not be denied that there are certain differences, because he points out, "it is no secret that official London has an understanding for Pristina perhaps more than some other western actors", reported Kosovo Online. 

As examples of certain differences between Great Britain and the other Quint countries when it comes to Kosovo, Less cited that, as he said, official London "seems to support police actions in northern Kosovo and insists that the Community of Serbian Municipalities must be in line with Kosovo's Constitution and not to be a new Republika Srpska".

"These minor differences in approach should not be exaggerated. The UK has fundamentally the same interest as the US and the EU when it comes to Kosovo, which is to prevent the return of instability that could destabilise both Bosnia and Herzegovina and the wider region," says Less. 

He also said that the common interest of the UK, the USA and the EU is to prevent greater Russian influence.

"The UK supports the efforts of the EU and the US to reach an agreement between Serbia and Kosovo before implementing some alternative policy towards the two sides," Less believes.

Commenting on the fact that during last week's visit of EU, USA, French, German and Italian envoys to Belgrade and Pristina, British government emissary for the region Stuart Peach, the only representative of Quint, was not present, but MP Alicia Hearns was in Pristina that day, who in the previous period, repeatedly supported Kurti's government and strongly condemned Belgrade, calling for the introduction of sanctions on Serbia, Less believes that by this "no special message was sent".

"Certainly not that the debate on the status of Kosovo should be resolved in favour of Kosovo and not through negotiations. Two things are indicative here, I believe. The first is that after Brexit, the UK does not lead in efforts to resolve the Kosovo dispute, which is formally at the hands of the EU and the US. The UK is now focused on ensuring security in Kosovo through NATO. Second, Alicia Kearns herself decided, unilaterally, to support Kosovo in its dispute with Serbia. This is what I can see from the UK government's reactions to her stepping out, which Kearnes sees as more of a problem than part of any solution," says Less.

When asked how he sees the claims that London is among the strongest allies of Kosovo, but also of Prime Minister Kurti himself, Less says:

"I think that the fact that London is a strong ally of Kosovo only refers to the long-term policy towards Kosovo. It means that it supports the independence of Kosovo and appreciates its loyalty and relations on issues such as Russia and Ukraine. When it comes to Albin Kurti, I saw that Kosovo President Vjosa Osmani thanked Alicia Kearns for being a strong ally and supporting the people of Kosovo, which is not surprising. I am not aware of any government official giving Kurti explicit support, and I also don't expect it as long as he continues to obstruct dialogue."

Janjic: Brussels talks ended without an agreement, but showed a change in work methodology (Kim radio, Slobodno srpski)

The President of the Forum for Ethnic Relations, Dusan Janjic, said on the Slobodno Srpski program that the talks between Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic and Kosovo Prime Minister Albin Kurti with European leaders in Brussels, although ended without an agreement, "in some way showed a change in work methodology and de facto format, because now the messages of the Europeans, the Americans and the British are harmonised", reported KiM radio. 

"Quint was helping, assisting, but now Quint is involved directly, which means that they (London, Washington and Brussels) achieve a message and send it with one voice. Before, Germany sent one message, Mogherini another, a third, and that's how it was done in the time of Catherine Ashton. When a message arrives, it's an experience not only of the Balkans, then these, let's say younger players, such as ours in that relationship, adapt and have no room for manoeuvring," said Janjic among other things.

He is of the opinion that the events of September 24 in the village of Banjska in the municipality of Zvecan are "a collateral result of wrong policies".

According to his opinion, the goal of the action in Banjska was "planning an uprising", which, he says, was intercepted.

"Let's wait for the trial and it will be shown that the plan was to ignite a small fire, to spread it and to maintain a tense security situation in the north as much as possible, and then to negotiate a change of borders," he said on the show Slobodno srpski, reported KiM radio. 

Janjic believes that the trial of the participants in the Banjska case will take place in the Special Court in Belgrade with EULEX monitoring.

"It will be done in Belgrade. Monitoring will be done by EULEX, but the embassies of EULEX will report to the Kosovo authorities and transfer documents, and the observers will be from all the Quint countries. That is just one detail, what is more important here is the prevention of something like that not happening again,'' concluded Dusan Janjic

Commenting on the method of evacuating a group of armed Serbs, who, according to Prime Minister Albin Kurti's claims at the time, were surrounded by Kosovo police officers, Janjic says that their ''evacuation was agreed with KFOR'', reported KiM radio.

Milovan Bozovic from Zubin Potok sentenced to seven months in prison (KoSSev, media)

Basic Court in Pristina sentenced Milovan Bozovic, a Serb from Zubin Potok, to seven months in prison over criminal act of “participation in a group that committed criminal acts and hooliganism”, as well as “for burning vehicles in the north”, KoSSev portal reports. The time he spent in detention will be included in the sentence. Indictment against Bozovic was raised on October 16, this year.

Serbian media reported earlier that Kosovo Interior Minister Xhelal Svecla referring to Bozovic, on April 2, one day after his arrest, as “a hero of the structures that lead him” accused him of “burning the vehicles in the north, wounding members of the Kosovo police, damaging critical infrastructure, illegal border crossing, beating up Serbs and burning local companies, taking part in the attacks on houses and properties of the Serb members of Kosovo Security Forces, as well as being a suspect for the murder of EULEX member”. 

Larger number of Kosovo police present in Zubin Potok, works on police station construction continue (Kosovo Online)

Kosovo Online portal reports today that a larger number of Kosovo police members were noticed in Zubin Potok, near the place where construction of a police station is planned. The situation is calm, and the children attend the lessons in a school that is located in the vicinity of the location where works commenced on Saturday morning for construction of a police station.

Leader of Civic Initiative For Zubin Potok Milija Bisevac said Zubin Potok residents do not think this location is adequate for a police station, and that necessary measures should be taken immediately to relocate construction of a police station to some other location.

“We all think it is not a place for a police station to be located near an elementary school in which students come on a daily basis, where in the future they can see special police, armed people. Once again I emphasise we are not against construction of a police station if it is needed, but we certainly think that this location is not adequate for something like that (…)”, Bisevac said.

He added that in the talks with police officers he received certain documents in which it was said that decision was made by former Zubin Potok mayor Srdjan Vulovic. “Of course, back then the circumstances were different and Serbs were present in the police as well. Today this police is a monoethnic, and again I say it is not a problem (to construct police station) but the location is problematic because of the children who are there (….)” Bisevac said, adding that in the coming days they will try to oppose the decision in a legal manner.

Meanwhile, Serbian public broadcaster RTS reported that construction was stopped but that police placed containers, and created yet another stronghold in Zubin Potok.

Director of the Elementary School Jovan Cvijic, Aleksandar Lazarevic said that the land plot in question is publicly owned, and is used by a school, and therefore a school should have been informed about construction. The school hired a lawyer to deal with the case and if nothing to stop the work.

Kosovo police said they received a construction permit on October 23, as per Memorandum of Understanding signed between police and Civil Registry Agency.

Serb political representatives said that Pristina presented false information about some decision from 2018 about construction of a police station there.

Over the last year and a half, Kosovo police built several bases for special forces in the north of Kosovo. The largest one is located in the village Gornji Jasenovik, a few kilometres away from Zubin Potok. 

"Fatherland" on construction of police station: “The brutality of Pristina while Belgrade is busy collecting voters” (KiM radio)

"The construction of a police station in Zubin Potok right next to a complex of primary and secondary schools, as well as a kindergarten, with the intention of locating the ROSU police, created on the foundations of the former KLA, shows all the brutality, arrogance and ferocity of the separatist authorities in Pristina," it was stated in the announcement of the National Movement of Serbs from KiM "Otadzbina" (Fatherland), reported KiM radio. 

In the text delivered to the media, recalled the recent demolition of tombstones in North Mitrovica. 

"The local government, represented by the Albanianized Bosniak Erden Atiq, quarrels with history without any reluctance or hesitation, applying vandalism to Serbian settlements with the mocking statement 'if we have done something wrong, we will correct it'. As if the scattered bones and broken tombstones, moved from their peace, can return to the previous state," the announcement states.

It was stated that ''the government in Pristina is applying cruel reprisals against the Serbian population with numerous arrests and terror against citizens, while, as it is added, the government in Belgrade is unable to prevent this because it lost all battles in the conflict with the separatists''

"The authorities in Belgrade are currently concerned about how to attract Serbs from Kosovo and Metohija, both from the north of Kosovo and Metohija and from other parts of the southern Serbian province, to register as many as possible in Belgrade due to the upcoming elections," it was stated.

It is added that Pristina and Belgrade are "on the same task", and that it is "to reduce the number of Serbs in the southern Serbian province as much as possible"

"That the government in Belgrade only cares about its own interests is also shown by the fact that again in cooperation with the anti-Serb and separatist regime of Albin Kurti, for the counter-rally of the ruling Serbian Progressive Party, it took buses that were given to them by the government in Pristina to take Serbs from the north of Kosovo and Metohija. Pristina took advantage of that situation, certainly in agreement with Belgrade, to usurp the municipalities in the north of Kosovo and Metohija," it was stated.

The "Fatherland" movement emphasises in a statement that the number of Serbs in Kosovo has decreased by more than 40,000 since Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic came to power.

"They were promised from the highest place in the country that, in the event of a problem, the Serbian Army, which is just over ten kilometres away from Banjska, would come to help them. People were sacrificed, some arrested, others wounded, and the third killed. There was no help. The Supreme Commander of the Serbian Army left them in the lurch," concluded the ''Fatherland'' movement, reported KiM radio.

Office for KiM: Tractor stolen from Djuric family in Osojane village (Kontakt plus radio, KiM radio, N1) 

The Office for Kosovo and Metohija announced that in the night between Saturday and Sunday in the village of Osojane, a tractor was stolen from the family of Aleksandar Djuric, a single father of three daughters who lives exclusively from agriculture, reported Kontakt plus radio. 

As the Office points out, his existence is directly threatened because the tractor is his basic means of work. As stated, the Office will help him "get back on his feet".

The office recalls that a few days ago in Osojane, the Church of the Holy Archangel Gabriel was also robbed, from which the thieves even took communion utensils.

The locals suspect that it is the same perpetrators, it was stated in the Office announcement.

"That fact brought additional restlessness and fear among the Serb returnees in this Metohija village, whose peace is disturbed by daily incidents and attacks," the announcement states.

It is added that the series of pressures and attacks on Serbian people and returnees in the village of Osojane near Istok continued, as well as that each of these incidents aims to further intimidate the Serbs living in this Metohija place and make it impossible for them to stay and survive.

"Despite such perfidious attempts of expulsion by extremists and miscreants, the returning Serbs are determined to stay and survive where they found themselves after many hardships and pain and where they just want to live in peace. The international community must also be aware of this and replace the policy of silence and turning one's head with a proactive approach in solving the problem of the Serbs, whose existence in Kosovo and Metohija is most brutally threatened," the statement concluded.

Serbian List reacting to the theft urged once again EULEX, KFOR but also Quint embassies to stand up in protection of the Serbian people in Kosovo, as their silence, as they said, extremists wrongly interpret as support, which is impermissible.

Serbian List also said it warned of the pressure against Serb returnees in Metohija, who are exposed to provocations and that the Church in this village was also targeted, but to this date perpetrators of the previous crimes were not found, nor were actions to prevent new incidents and provocations taken.

Vucic receives farewell visit from Albanian ambassador (Tanjug)

Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic received a farewell visit from Albanian Ambassador to Belgrade Ilir Bocka on Monday. Vucic thanked Bocka for his cooperation and the personal contribution he made during his nine-year tenure to building better Serbia-Albania relations.

 

 

Opinion 

 

Palokaj: Vucic continues to successfully challenge the EU (Koha)

Brussels-based correspondent Augustin Palokaj writes in an opinion piece that “a situation where everything that Kosovo asks for is ‘unrealistic’ and everything that Serbia refuses is ‘logical’ has been created by EU High Representative Josep Borrell and his special envoy Miroslav Lajcak. And in doing so, they have violated their own work, because they prove that they don’t respect either the document that they have signed or the document that they praised by saying it was an agreement. And if Lajcak and Borrell are not serious about the February agreement that they said was reached in Brussels and the Ohrid Annex, why should Vucic be serious about them”.

Palokaj argues that a turning point can be the joint statement of French President Macron, German Chancellor Scholz and Italian Prime Minister Meloni, calling on Kosovo Prime Minister Kurti to implement the obligation for creating the Association of Serb-majority municipalities. “They didn’t even bother to play the game of words on ‘Article 7 related to Article 10’ or ‘self-management’ but clearly mentioned the Association. Unlike the EU, they told Serbia that it needs to make the de-facto recognition. This was never told to Serbia before, therefore, it marks a turning point. And the insistence for this will help with Kosovo forming the Association according to the ‘modern European’ proposal, regardless of what was said in the past by those that are in power today, or what is said by those that are in the opposition today but on behalf of Kosovo assumed this obligation by accepting, signing, and adopting it in the Assembly,” he writes.

According to Palokaj, “the power of the [joint] statement will depend on their readiness to take measures against Serbia if it doesn’t respect the message and if it continues to challenge the European Union the way that Aleksandar Vucic has done very successfully so far. For one month, he [Vucic] has managed to avoid sanctions on Serbia for its role in the Banjska attacks, and it is difficult to find any rational person who believes that Belgrade had no connection to the attacks. Now if he manages to avoid the obligations from the agreement, the process of normalisation will suffer another blow, and this time it will be fatal, because after the complete loss of authority and credibility by Borrell, Lajcak and the European Commission who sanctioned only Kosovo and not Serbia, the credibility of the three leaders of the biggest EU countries will also be damaged. And then there will be no more room to look for a more powerful authority that can help move things”.

 

 

International 

 

Kosovo’s Report Reveals Banjska Terrorist Attack Details (Prishtina Insight)

Kosovo’s Foreign Affairs Ministry published a report on the September 24th terrorist attack in Banjska. It highlights a former Kosovo Police officer’s involvement, alleged Serbian state support, and ties to the May KFOR forces attack.

A report prepared by the Kosovo Ministry of Foreign Affairs, MFA, which was presented by Kosovo’s President to the UN Security Council, claims that the armed group that carried out a terrorist attack on the police in the village of Banjska on September 24th, where one officer was killed and two others were injured, had entered through an illegal point of entry called Izvor, connecting Banjska in the municipality of Zvecan and the city of Novi Pazar in Serbia.

The distance between the border and Banjska village is approximately 14 kilometres.

According to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Kosovo, the armed group that carried out a terrorist attack on September 24 in Banjska, entered through an illegal point of entry called Izvor, connecting Banjska in the municipality of Zvecan and the city of Novi Pazar in Serbia. Own illustration, based on data from the report of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. 

The details used in the MFA document emphasise that they managed to extract photographs and other materials from the phones of the members of the terrorist group found in Banjska.

Read more at: https://tinyurl.com/y362fmve

After BIRN Investigation, Prishtina Court Sentenced 13 Police Officers for Smuggling Operations (Prishtina Insight)

Following an investigation conducted by BIRN in 2019, the Basic Court in Prishtina on Friday convicted and sentenced 13 out of 19 accused police officers for their involvement in abusing their official positions in collusion with the smuggling of various goods from the territory of Serbia into Kosovo.

Basic Court in Prishtina on Friday sentenced and convicted 13 police officers as in January 2019, the Justice in Kosovo show [Drejtesia ne Kosove] published footage featured in three broadcasts revealing how, at two gas stations and a retail store in Leposavic, a network of police officers accepted bribes of up to 200 euros to facilitate the unhindered passage of contraband trucks.

BIRN’s team, in collaboration with Serbian citizens, managed to document the smuggling operation. 

In the captured footage, smugglers contacted sergeants and police officials at border checkpoints to ensure the smooth transit of contraband, including various goods such as livestock, derivatives, alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages, and food products, from Serbia to Kosovo and vice versa.

The Court issued a total of 23 years of imprisonment for the border police.

Zvezdan Spasojevic was found guilty and sentenced to 3 years in prison. Biljana Nedelkovic was found guilty and sentenced to 2 years and 3 months in prison. Abdurrahim Haxhic was found guilty and sentenced to 2 years in prison, while Abdurrahim Haxhic, Albert Maxhuni, Milija Milunovic, Ramadan Mustafic, Jasna Durlevic, Zenel Bahtiri, Ali Pllana, Reshat Kuçi, and Vukadin Tomashevic were all found guilty and received  prison sentences, ranging from 1 year and 6 months to 2 years.

Read more at: https://tinyurl.com/2c6r578p