Headlines - 06.01.2017

• AAK leader Haradinaj remains in French detention (dailies)
• Lunacek calls for annulment of Serbia’s outdated arrest warrants (Koha)
• Nikolic not granted permission to visit Kosovo (dailies)
• Police deny media reports Muhaxheri is in Kosovo (Zeri)
• Lawyer claims Astrit Dehari did not commit suicide (Epoka e Re)

Kosovo Media Highlights

AAK leader Haradinaj remains in French detention (dailies)

Papers report that a French court decided yesterday that the leader of the Alliance for the Future of Kosovo (AAK) and former prime minister Ramush Haradinaj will remain in detention pending Serbia’s formal request for extradition. Haradinaj is wanted by Serbia on war crimes charges for his role as a Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA) commander. AAK reacted shortly after the court’s decision saying it was unacceptable. Meanwhile, the Serbian Prime Minister Aleksandar Vucic asked for Haradinaj’s extradition but experts in Kosovo claim it is highly unlikely for Haradinaj to be handed over to Serbian authorities. Koha Ditore reports that Kosovo’s Foreign Minister Enver Hoxhaj has spoken on the phone to his French counterpart Jean-Marc Ayrault about Haradinaj’s case and said that Serbia’s arrest warrants are unacceptable and invalid for the citizens of Kosovo.

Lunacek calls for annulment of Serbia’s outdated arrest warrants (Koha)

European Parliament Vice President and Rapporteur for Kosovo, Ulrike Lunacek, said the EU should put pressure on Serbia to recall outdated arrest warrants against Kosovo citizens. Lunacek said such warrants are unacceptable and added that she did not understand why France would act on them since it is one of the countries that recognised Kosovo a day after it proclaimed independence.

Nikolic not granted permission to visit Kosovo (dailies)

Serbian President Tomislav Nikolic has not been granted permission to visit Kosovo for Orthodox Christmas celebrations. The Kosovo government’s decision comes a day after the leader of the Alliance for the Future of Kosovo (AAK) Ramush Haradinaj was detained by French authorities on an arrest warrant issued by Serbia, reports Koha Ditore. A press release issued by Kosovo’s Foreign Ministry says the refusal is a result of the failure on the part of Serb side to timely submit request for visit but Nikolic said he was postponing the visit due to “the torture of having to wait at the administrative borderline.”

Police deny media reports Muhaxheri is in Kosovo (Zeri)

The Kosovo Police has issued a press release disputing media reports that Lavdrim Muhaxheri, a senior IS commander, was in Kosovo. The police said that according to the information they possess, Muhaxheri was still in Syria or Iraq.

Lawyer claims Astrit Dehari did not commit suicide (Epoka e Re)

Tome Gashi, lawyer for the family of Vetevendosje activist Astrit Dehari who died whilst in custody in Prizren, said in a press conference yesterday that the video footage from the detention facility has been cut in several places. This, according to Gashi, shows that Dehari’s cell was not sealed off until an hour after his death.