• COVID – 19: 565 new cases, 9 deaths (media)
• Health Minister: More restrictive measures against COVID – 19 (media)
• Specialist Chambers confirm: Krasniqi transferred to The Hague (media)
• Kosovo Deputy PM: Courts cannot change the history (media)
• Limaj: Krasniqi would have never opposed justice (media)
• Former senior KLA member confirms there is indictment against him (media)
• Kurti: Special injustice is continuing (media)
• Haradinaj: Selimi will come out innocent (media)
• Klinaku: Specialist Chambers’ actions, illegal and anti-constitutional (media)
• Grabovci: I regret voting in favor of formation of Special Court (media)

COVID – 19: 565 new cases, 9 deaths (media)

565 new cases of COVID – 19 and nine deaths from the virus were recorded in the last 24 hours in Kosovo. The highest number of new cases is from the municipality of Prishtina (286). 107 patients recovered from the virus in this time. There are currently 5,360 active cases of coronavirus in Kosovo.

Health Minister: More restrictive measures against COVID – 19 (media)

Kosovo’s Minister of Health, Armend Zemaj, said on Wednesday that more restrictive measures against COVID – 19 will have to be introduced because of the spike in cases. After meeting COMKFOR General Michele Risi, Zemaj posted on Facebook: “Seeing the rise of positive cases in the last two weeks, we will be forced to introduce more restrictive measures. It is a common assessment that first and foremost we need to protect public health, therefore, we need to act to prevent the situation from deteriorating any further. I thanked the General for KFOR’s commitment to the security of our citizens, peace and stability throughout Kosovo’s territory. We must act immediately, by avoiding unnecessary movements, staying at home and respecting the anti – COVID measures”.

Specialist Chambers confirm: Krasniqi transferred to The Hague (media)

The Kosovo Specialist Chambers (KSC) issued a press release on Wednesday confirming that Jakup Krasniqi, former senior member of the Kosovo Liberation Army, was transferred to the detention facilities of the KSC in The Hague.

The press release notes:

The arrest was carried out by the Specialist Prosecutor’s Office (SPO), pursuant to a confirmed indictment related to war crimes and crimes against humanity, and an arrest warrant and transfer order issued by a Pre-Trial Judge of the Kosovo Specialist Chambers.

In conducting the arrest, the SPO was supported operationally and logistically by the European Union Rule of Law Mission in Kosovo (EULEX) in line with its mandate and in accordance with the Kosovo legislation. The Kosovo Police (KP) also provided operational support to the SPO.

More information will be provided in due course, including information about the publication of the confirmed indictment, with redactions where necessary. Pursuant to Rule 88 of the Rules of Procedure and Evidence the indictment shall be made public no later than the initial appearance of the Accused.

Kosovo Deputy PM: Courts cannot change the history (media)

Kosovo’s Deputy Prime Minister, Besnik Tahiri, took to Facebook on Wednesday to react against the arrest of Jakup Krasniqi and the confirmed indictment against Rexhep Selimi by the Specialist Chambers. Tahiri said Serbia is the only party responsible for war crimes and genocide. He added that “courts cannot change the history” and that Krasniqi and Selimi are the same freedom-loving fighters. “We were inspired by their examples, and this will never change,” he said.

Limaj: Krasniqi would have never opposed justice (media)

NISMA leader Fatmir Limaj reacted to the arrest of former Kosovo Assembly President and senior NISMA official, Jakup Krasniqi, by the Specialist Prosecutor’s Office, in Prishtina on Wednesday. Limaj told a press conference that the way Krasniqi was arrested was unnecessary. “He would have never opposed justice; he would have never come out against justice. On the contrary, his whole life was dedicated to justice, freedom, coexistence and well-being,” he said.

Former senior KLA member confirms there is indictment against him (media)

Rexhep Selimi, a senior member of the former Kosovo Liberation Army and an MP of the Vetevendosje Movement, said on Wednesday that there is a confirmed indictment against him by the Specialist Chambers. Selimi said in a Facebook post that he will travel to The Hague on Thursday. “I have known and will always know how to protect the freedom of the people, the state of Kosovo and the glorious Kosovo Liberation Army,” he said.

Kurti: Special injustice is continuing (media)

Vetevendosje Movement (VV) leader and former Kosovo Prime Minister, Albin Kurti, commented on the confirmed indictment against Rexhep Selimi and the arrest of Jakup Krasniqi on Wednesday saying that “the special injustice is continuing”.

“We know that the Serbian leadership is rejoicing this evening, led by their President who was once a minister of Milosevic and now pretends to the world that he is a non-problematic guy. We know that the President of the Serbian Parliament, who was a spokesman for Milosevic’s party, is rejoicing too because today was arrested the spokesman of the KLA and once the President of the Kosovo Assembly when independence was declared … This celebration however will not last for long, because the Republic of Kosovo does not go back and Albanians are becoming a nation equal with others,” Kurti said.

Haradinaj: Selimi will come out innocent (media)

Alliance for the Future of Kosovo (AAK) leader Ramush Haradinaj commented on the confirmed indictment against Vetevendosje MP Rexhep Selimi by the Specialist Prosecutor’s Office, saying that he will come out innocent. Haradinaj also said that “there is no court that can question the efforts for freedom”.

Klinaku: Specialist Chambers’ actions, illegal and anti-constitutional (media)

Faton Klinaku, acting leader of the KLA War Veterans Organisation, said on Wednesday that the actions of the Specialist Prosecutor’s Office are “illegal and anti-constitutional”. He said the war veterans had no information about the raids and the eventual arrests of former senior members of the Kosovo Liberation Army.

Klinaku said the war veterans had copies of the indictments in their offices and that they gave them to the media. “We didn’t have any information on when they would be arrested or summoned, but we had the indictments that leaked from them [the Specialist Chambers] and we shared them with the media, and they included the indictments against Jakup Krasniqi and Rexhep Selimi,” he said.

Grabovci: I regret voting in favor of formation of Special Court (media)

Adem Grabovci, former head of the Democratic Party of Kosovo (PDK) parliamentary group, said on Wednesday that he regrets voting in favor of the formation of the Specialist Chambers. Commenting on the arrest of Jakup Krasniqi, a former senior member of the Kosovo Liberation Army, Grabovci said: “seeing the current developments, as a former member of the Kosovo Assembly, I ask myself what is going on. I would have never acted the way I did back then. I regret for believing and for voting in favor and I am ready to apologise to all citizens of the Republic of Kosovo.”