UNMIK Headlines 23 May
Justice negotiated, Lushtaku goes to Dubrava (Koha Ditore)
Sami Lushtaku, Ismet Haxha and Sahit Jashari, members of the so-called Drenica Group, handed themselves over to justice institutions early today, the paper reports on the front page. They are reported to have been taken to the Dubrava prison instead of Mitrovica North, since they opposed the latter. The move came after talks between the defence counsels of the accused men and judiciary institutions, including EULEX. The paper claims that this has created a precedent of negotiating laws in Kosovo and adds that negotiations lasted for three days and all along it was unclear whether the accused were inside the Kosovo Clinical and University Centre (QKUK) or elsewhere.
Sami Lushtaku’s son, Mergim, told the paper that the three members of the Drenica Group decided to hand themselves over to authorities after receiving assurances that they would not be taken to the prison in the north of Kosovo and that their trial would not take place in the courthouse of Mitrovica North.
Germany and Great Britain knew the power of “Drenica Group” (Tribuna)
Tribuna, on the front page, reports that at the time when the Kosovo government requested that EULEX end its job in June, Germany and Great Britain drafted a “non-paper” about the EULEX mandate. The paper noted that local authorities are not able to act against powerful people and that, because of that, despite the difficulties faced by EULEX, it continues to be necessary. Reactions to the indictments of members of the so-called Drenica Group were cited as an example.
EULEX did not guarantee safety for “Drenica Group” (Bota Sot)
The Kosovo Ministry of Justice issued a press release saying that EULEX was unable to guarantee the safety of the members of the Drenica Group in that Mitrovica North prison and that is why they were instead taken to the Dubrava prison. The Ministry maintains that it has no competencies in the area of detention and that this is a responsibility of independent judicial institutions.
Reichel: Lushtaku is proof of why a special court was needed (Botapress)
The scandal of Sami Lushtaku’s escape, as well as “negotiations” with EULEX about where he would be transferred and tried, have triggered international reactions. Former German Ambassador to Kosovo Ernst Reichel linked the Lushtaku case to the establishment of the special court. “The situation of Sami Lushtaku and others sadly demonstrates why the international community was insisting on the establishment of the court,” wrote Reichel on his Facebook page.
EULEX arrests for murder of UNMIK & Kosovo police officers (Koha Ditore)
At least two persons were arrested yesterday by EULEX in connection with a double murder committed in March 2004. Florim Ejupi and Bajram Kicmari were arrested during search operations carried out by EULEX police in Pristina and Podujeva. EULEX Spokesperson Blerim Krasniqi said the arrest operation had to do with an investigation into the killing of an UNMIK police officer and a Kosovo police officer in 2004. An UNMIK police patrol came under attack in 2004 following the March riots leaving two officers dead.
Dardan Molliqaj arrested and later released (Tribuna)
Dardan Molliqaj, Secretary of the Vetevendosje movement, was arrested by Kosovo police yesterday, in connection with a protest in 2012. However, that evening, Molliqaj was released. Vetevendosje called the arrest a political attack and noted that the official reason for his arrest was participation in protests. “We consider participation in protests a civic and democratic basic right. Persecution of citizens because they took part in protests aims to extinguish the spirit of real opposition,” Vetevendosje said.
Headscarves issue to be addressed by Constitutional Court (Zeri)
Kosovo President Atifete Jahjaga is expected to take the issue of allowing girls to wear headscarves in schools to the Constitutional Court. Jahjaga is said to have been outraged by the decision of the outgoing Prime Minister, Hashim Thaci, to revoke an administrative instruction banning headscarves in schools. Jahjaga has reaffirmed many times that Kosovo is a secular state and that headscarves should not be allowed to be worn in schools.
Thaçi has a clear message for his candidates (Lajm)
PDK head Hashim Thaçi yesterday met with all candidates from his party. He told them not to be involved in any form of vote manipulation. He informed them that all institutions responsible for elections will be up to the task. According to sources, Thaci said that individual candidates would be held responsible for any attempt to manipulate the elections.
Powerful blast in Mitrovica, no casualties (Telegrafi)
A powerful blast was heard at around 2 a.m. in northern Mitrovica. But apart from material damage, no casualties were reported. The blast occurred in front of the jewelry shop ‘Murga’ on ‘Lola Ribar’ Street, which was the target of a robbery several days ago. The incident was confirmed by the Kosovo Police chief of operations for the north, Zeljko Bojic. He said that four vehicles were damaged in the attack, including a kiosk and several shops. Police are at the site waiting for specialized teams to begin investigations.