A Serb member of the Kosovo government, Dalibor Jevtic, on Thursday attended a meeting of that government, Pristina-based Koha.net website is reporting.
Jevtic and all other members of the Kosovo government from the Serb List submitted their resignations back in March, after the arrest of Office for Kosovo and Metohija chief Marko Djuric, and have not taken part in any of its sessions since. The website states that the return of ministers from Serb List was influenced by a German delegation currently visiting Pristina.
The president of the Basic Court in Pristina, Aferdita Bytyci, has appointed a judge to act as coordinator for cases relating to media and journalists. Bytyci said that the deputy president of the court, Arben Hoti, will be the point of contact for any case dealt with by the court in Pristina that relates to media and journalists. Koha reports that the move comes after a meeting the judicial officials had with representatives of the Association of Kosovo Journalists which in a statement hailed the appointment of a coordinator.
Kosovo’s Foreign Minister, Behgjet Pacolli, announced on Facebook that Interpol’s executive council voted in favour of Kosovo’s membership bid being included in the agenda of the organisation’s General Assembly set to take place in November. “Republic of Kosovo’s membership in Interpol does not constitute a threat to anyone. Kosovo in Interpol contributes to the global fight against organised crime, violent extremism and other criminal activities,” Pacolli wrote.
Kosovo’s Minister of Infrastructure, Pal Lekaj, said today that the construction works on the Decan-Plave road are taking place outside the Special Protective Zone of the Orthodox Monastery and added that the issue has needlessly become politicised. At a joint press conference with Montenegro’s Minister of Transport and Maritime Affairs Osman Nurkovic, in Pristina, Lekaj said Kosovo institutions are aware of the responsibilities that derive from the Ahtisaari package but gave assurances that the works are being carried out outside the SPZ.
Deputy leader of the Democratic League of Kosovo (LDK), Agim Veliu, called for new parliamentary elections as the only way to resolve the current “institutional crisis”. At the roundtable between representatives of parliamentary parties hosted by Vetevendosje this time, Veliu said the event is being used for other interests and not the more pressing matters such as setting the date for new elections. “We as LDK consider the country to be in an institutional crisis because neither the government nor the assembly is functioning.
The Basic Court in Pristina has announced today its decision in the so-called ‘Medicus’ case and found the owner of the clinic Lutfi Dervishi guilty on charges of human trafficking and organised crime. Dervishi was previously convicted on the same charges for his role in the illegal organ transplants that took place in his clinic but the case went to retrial. The court said the prosecution managed to prove that Dervishi was aware of the illegal practices in his clinic and was personally involved in them.
Kosovo Assembly’s legislation committee has approved in principle today the new draft of Kosovo’s criminal code presented by Justice Minister, Abelard Tahiri. Tahiri said the draft law is in harmony to EU standards and legislation and that it will provide Kosovo with a new boost to fight crime and corruption. He urged MPs to vote the bill as quickly as possible as apart from meeting EU requirements, the law is also a visa liberalisation condition.
Head of EU Office and Special Representative, Nataliya Apostolova, said in a lecture before Pristina high school pupils that European Union is Kosovo’s biggest partner in its integration path and that the EU will pay particular attention to the education field. She admitted that the EU integration of will be a lengthy and challenging process but that Kosovo stands to benefit extremely.