Hoxharies to legalise in Kosovo prisons, verified by AKI

Regarding the commitment of about 20 imams to approaching the redeployment of certain persons who are serving sentences in Kosovo prisons for acts related to terrorism, the Ministry of Justice of the Government of Kosovo and the Islamic Community of Kosovo, days ago have signed the joint agreement.

Abelard Tahiri, justice minister, talking about The REL, stressed that the imams of the Islamic Community of Kosovo will not replace the work of psychologists and sociologists, who are engaged by correctional centres. But, according to him, co-operation has to do with it that unauthorized religious literature, which has infiltrated these centers, and that is where literature authorized by the Islamic Community of Kosovo, is sent to you.

Once the vetting process is complete, then the imams will continue to work in corrective centres. I have to make it clear to the public that there is no mention of mass organization, either of speeches or of organizing religious rites. It is only for those who are radicalized and other people who express their interest to be part of organizing these religious rites within corrective centres, always without ever violating the security and function of Kosovo's correctional centres”, said the minister Tahiri.

On the other hand, the chief imam of the Islamic Community of Kosovo, Sabri Bajgora, says the experiences of European countries that have engaged in the process of eroding convicted persons, have shown success. According to him, the Kosovo Islamic Community, based on the agreement with the Ministry of Justice, has already appointed imams that will be involved in implementing the programme envisioned in the agreement.

In this case, the imams that have been selected are highly meritive, having a good qualifications, imams that have witnessed their work and dedication, so far, in the Islamic Community. Therefore, we hope that even their work will be successful, whether in the speeches the prisoners need, even with the programs for the deportation of those imprisoned”, Baygora said.

Meanwhile, Minister Tahiri emphasises that implementation of the agreement has the only purpose to deal with the phenomenon of religious radicalism in corrective centres, so that persons who suffer the penalty for religious radicalism after the end of the sentence pose no threat to society and the state.

There is no doubt that in the form of what it is now, they pose a danger to our society. However, under no circumstances will we allow such a situation to continue, and we will take steps in any case necessary for this potential danger to be averted. These people, as soon as their sentence ends, as they leave the correctional centers, should be willing not to pose a threat to our society and be willing to enroll in their daily work, to be part of our” society, Tahiri said.

The head of the Baygora has voiced confidence that if all parties engaged in the process of elaborating certain persons who serve sentences at correcting centres do their job properly, successes will be inevitable.

We still don't have access to how much of their radicalism is in prisons. So first we need to do a prison record of what the situation is like and then start with the relevant programs that have already been trained by our imams at different seminars and conferences that were held last year, but also of a training that was conducted in England, in terms of this matter”, Baygora noted.

In Kosovo's correctional centres, there is already a number of citizens in the country who are serving the sentence for participation in foreign wars in Iraq and Syria, but also for trying to go into foreign wars.

Earlier, Kosovo Government officials had stressed that the presence of radicalism among prisoners has been observed, even among those who are serving the penalty for criminal acts entirely other than terrorism and who are not associated with terrorism.

According to Kosovo authorities, about 316 people from Kosovo have participated in the Middle East conflicts. There are believed to be 140 people still in war zones, while 117 of them have returned to Kosovo.