Murders From Postwars That Challenge Justice

2019 passed without dawning some of the killings that rocked Kosovo over the past years.

News.net brings back the summary of cases of murders that were not dawned on justice and the circumstances in which it occurred.

The mysterious death of Astrit Dehar

On October 5, 2016, he was found dead in his cell, former VV activist Astrit Dehari.

Dehari at the Prizren Pre- Hamilment Centre was standing on charges that he was participating in the zoo attack on Kosovo's Parliament targets.

Prizren's former chief prosecutor, Silas Hoxha, had said that all evidence gathered to lead to the conclusion that Dehar committed suicide.

There has been no evidence or evidence found at this stage of the investigation that there is any interference from external factors resulting from the injury or physical damage now of the late Astrit Dehari, and we have no person suspected of criminal or possibly caused death. So all evidence and examinations conducted during the investigative process demonstrate that this case was suicide”, Hoxha said on October 18, 2016.

In 2018, in the Kosovo Assembly, inter-relation has been held in connection with the death of former Vetevendosje Movement activist.

Vetevendosje Chairman Albin Kurti had called for the dismissal of European Integrations Minister Donus Hoxha, police officials who, he said, were responsible the day Astriti died.

“Mbi Astrit Deharin has been committed crime from the day he was arrested until his death on November 5th. On that day, November 5, 2016, Astritis remains four and a half minutes in Prizren's A3 prison cell after being found, for four minutes man dies four times”, Kurti said.

While the Vetevendosje Movement called for the dismissal of the Present Hoxhaj and all those considered responsible for Astri's death, Justice Minister in the Government of Kosovo Abelard Tahiri stressed that until a final decision, it will not stop for the dawn of the Astrit Dehar case.

Since the first week of taking office, the Astrit Dehar case has been seriously approached, as long as I have an institutional and legal mandate. On the 27th of 2017, I have sent letter to Chief State Prosecutor Alexander Lumez, where I have expressed my full willingness to offer the necessary institutional and financial assistance to the realisation of expertise in and abroad”, Tahiri had said.

As of the week when extraordinary elections were held in Kosovo, Switzerland's University Law Medicine Centre forwarded results to the Ministry of Justice in Kosovo for the autopsy of former Vetevendosje activist Astrit Deharit. They also asked for additional details about testing DNA.

On October 24 of this year, experts from Switzerland had arrived.

The same report had clarified that under the analysed circumstances, the fact that Astrit Dehar may have been killed cannot be ruled out.

Immediately after the report's admission, the Special Prosecutor of the Republic of Kosovo has been put in motion, while several witnesses have been interviewed in the case in recent days.

In addition to these developments, the Astrit Dehar case still remains a mystery to its relatives, but Kosovo citizens themselves.

Killing Elvis Pista

It was night between June 14th and June 15th 2014 when the PDK MP candidate Elvis Pista was shot to death with firearms.

On the critical night, Pista would go out with his friends (his wife, his friend, and his companion's wife), from a party held at a place called “Jaha Petrol”, from where he was later shot by fire from about seven meters away, writes the news.net.

On the critical day, those with him would be given the impression that Elvis Pista was fired, while, according to the police's criminal warning, they had initially thought that the shots came from lighting fireworks, but that they were not fireworks.

These were four shots of a 7.65 mm calibre gun believed to have also had deafening noise.

These shots would be fatal for Elvis Pist who passed away in the early hours of June 15, 2014.

News.net reports this year on the progress of investigations into the Pista murder.

By Gjakova's prosecution, they had indicated that although five years have been made by the launch of investigations after the incident, there is no suspect or any new evidence.

“in the investigations conducted so far, has not yet been found to find the possible perpetrators or perpetrators of the” assassination, the Gjakova Foundation Prosecutor had declared.

On the other hand, the prosecution had said that until now, it has not been managed to secure A. THROUGHOUT a new test of the white light as the investigation continues.

“also so far, we have not been able to obtain any new evidence on the white light of the case. The case still remains under investigation”, the prosecutor for news had said further.net.

Pista's news family confessed that the case was greatly ignored by Gjakova's Founding Prosecutor.

Hidija Pista, the mother of Elvis Pista, says they wanted the case to go to Special Prosecution, but that they were not welcomed for this request.

You know the case is handled by the Gjakova Prosecutor. With my daughter, Beatrice, we've been to Attorney Ali Ukaj to withdraw the course and send it to Special, but we're not welcome for this”, she said.

Hidija Pista says her daughter, Beatrice, has had an accident and that she has not been able to submit her written request to the prosecutor, while saying random investigators have changed the sector.

The girl had an accident and was not written down. Meanwhile, there is not even one movement or information for random progress by investigators in the case of serious crimes. We've been contacting major crime investigators, while they've unfortunately been positioned, some have gone into economic crimes and some into war crimes. And two years from the new investigators, there's not a single call: ”, goes on to tell Elvis's mother, Hidiya.

For Elvis Pist, who was a candidate for deputy from the PDK ranks, there is still no justice, while the perpetrators of his murder are still at large.

Former SDP Freedom Murder in Northern Mitrovica, Oliver Ivanovic

On January 16th, two years will take place since former Serbian SDP leader Oliver Ivanovic was shot to death with firearms.

Ivanovic was shot 16 January 2018 in front of his party's offices in northern Mitrovica.

The case, several months after it happened, was taken over by the Special Prosecutor of the Republic of Kosovo.

Nearly two years of controversy between the state of Serbia and Kosovo ended on December 2nd with the indictment filed against six people by the Special Prosecutor of the Republic of Kosovo.

Their alleged criminal acts include: participation or organisation of the organised criminal group, misuse of official position or authority, assistance in carrying out the criminal offence, possession of property, control or unauthorized possession of weapons, and revealing official secrecy.

However, Kosovo's Special Prosecutorship cannot send the prime suspect of this case to the tribunal, Milan Radojicic.

The same is on the run since the state of Kosovo had launched investigations against him as the main suspect in committing the murder.

Radojicic allegedly, along with his group, had ordered Ivanovic's murder, but other murders in the northern region.

He is known as “bosi” of the crime in the north, while even special prosecutor Syla Hoxha himself had acknowledged that Radojicic has strong connections in the Kosovo Police.

The end of 2019, Oliver Ivanovic's murder, was found without a final epilogue, or court verdict as the top suspects remain at large.

Shane's murder of Bahri Maloku

It was March 9, 2018, when two brothers from Maloku's Placica, Shany, and Bahri Maloch, had been shot in their home with firearms.

Charged for the case were the Besim of Blerim Maloku, against whom the Court ruled on November 14th on 2019.

Maloku's belief, charged with the double murder in Malisheva, was declared guilty by the Court.

The only work for which he will serve his sentence is the illegal possession for which the court has decided to remain in prison for 20 months.

Charged in this case was Blerim Maloku, while the criminal work he was charged with was <x0->armience without permission”.

According to the trial pronounced by the head of the court, Judge Gzim Pozheg, accused Blerim Maloku has been sentenced to nine months in custody for illegal weapons.

According to the indictment, filed on November 30, 2018, accused Besim Maloku is charged with taking the life of the Shani brothers and Bahri Maloch on March 9, 2018.

He is also accused of risking Ulyssus, Hysni, Gemajl and Africa Maloku's life, in a way that accused Maloku along with his brother, Blerim Maloku, have entered the victims' home to steal, where Maloku's trust had automatic rifles “AK-47”, calibre 7.62 x 39mm.

According to the indictment, now the late Shani and Bahri Maloku have been playing cards with Hysni, Africa and Ulyss Maloku.

Always in accordance with the indictment, Alban Maloku has gone to the victim's house and when he entered the backyard he noticed the accused and the same was screaming, and at that moment all the people who were playing with cards and running to capture the accused and on the way to the neighborhood, leaving the accused Besim Maloku has fired on his automatic rifles toward the brothers of Shani and Bahri Maloku and the same man have been deprived of life and then, along with the accused Blerim Maloku, have fled the scene.

In this move, accused Besim Maloku was accused of committing the criminal acts of “serious murder”, from Article 179, paragraph 1, subparagraph 1.5, 1.6 and 1.11 of KPRK and “holding in unauthorized possession of weapons”, from Article 374, paragraph 1 of KPRK.

By declaring innocence, the killing of the two Maloch brothers from Malisheva continues to be unresolved.

Postwar political murders challenging Kosovo justice

On November 23rd 2001, President Rugova's close associate, journalist and publicist Xhemajl Mustafa was killed. At the scene, there had been witnesses who had said the bombers had come from the steps of the building before which he was killed. But even Mustafa's murder got into what was never dawned.

On April 24, 2001, Ismet Raraci was killed as head of the Cline municipality and of the LDK branch in Kline until his return from work. President Rugova, who had said the assassination of his official was linked to the LDK's victory in 2000.

In an assassination in October 2001, journalist Bekim Kastrati was killed; President Rugova's bodyguard, Besim Dajaku, while the former US delegation Geci was wounded.

On January 17, 2002, MP Smajl Hajdaraj was also killed. Even this murder, like the others, was carried out in ambush, in complete darkness, in the escape of the bombers, who have never been discovered. His murder was largely for political reasons, as his family had said, the son of the ex-Depute, Rescue Hajdaraj, respectively.

On October 27, 2002, Uke Bytyci is killed chairman of Theranda municipality and the LDK branch in this municipality.

On 4 January 2003, Colonel Tahir Zemaj, former FARK commander in the Dukagjin region is killed in Pec.

Another murder that had shaken the opinion in post-war Kosovo is that of Commander Drini.

Drini was killed in front of his house in the neighbourhood “Basdhane” under mysterious circumstances on the morning of May 8, 2000, at the time he was working as municipal director for Emergency Agency.

LDK MP Hadzi Avdyli has voiced conviction that commander KLA, Ekrem Rexha-Dein has been killed for political reasons. He even said that the killers of “Drini “are among us”.

Courts and prosecutors in Kosovo have not rarely been accused of neglect and inefficiency in dealing with subjects.

During this year, courts in Kosovo had also declared life sentences for cases of murder.

Such was the penalty for Peter Nocaj, who is accused of killing his wife and daughter.

Even in the assassination of Donjeta Pajasitaj in Decani, the court had pronounced eternal punishment for Naser Pajazitaj, who is the victim's cousin.