Safe Journalists: Kosovo Institute Director under pressure to reveal resources

Insander has published an article on the refusal of certain Pfizer and BioNtech vaccines on the health ministry. Later that day, Health Minister Arben Vitita held a media conference inviting the Prosecutor to start investigating the flow of these confidential information.

On the morning of April 17, 2021, police arrived at the offices of Insider, where the director of the Parim Oluri portal was interviewed.

He published a status on his Facebook page, which said: “I don't know how accurate the prosecution's announcement that says the media won't be investigated. In the morning, the police's Red Crimes landed in Insider. I started interviewing there. They requested that the interview be continued at the police station. After a while, we are obliged to appear for an interview at the police station with Insider's lawyer. The prosecution through a communiqué said they would be investigated only by officials from whom the “information... the case has been opened in terms of criminal activity “The discovery of official secrecy”, by Article 426 of the KPRK, and that investigative actions will be taken against official persons, not media and journalists”.

Kosovo police later clarified through a communique that: Kosovo's “Police, following the admission of information that confidential information was published in the written media, according to authorisations, has taken legal action towards the announcement of the competent prosecutor. Following this action under the prosecution's command, other actions have been undertaken in full compliance with the legislation in force and the rights and guarantees stemming from them. Police, in this case police officials have not questioned and have not put under investigation any citizen who exercises the journalist's profession, according to the prosecutor's order in question only persons or officials who possess confidential information. ”

This is not the first time Oluri has been a target. Last year he was publicly lynching by Hysamedin Ferreaj, a member of the Vetvendosje Movement party. In 2019 he was invited by police to be interviewed about an article they had published. And in 2018, a lynching campaign was launched against him on a Facebook page, which the world called “Albian Real Facts”.

Gentiana Begolli Pustina, chairman of the Kosovo Journalists' Association Board, said they are deeply concerned by the case with colleagues from Inseder.

It is unlikely that journalists and media will be questioned. This issue is regulated by law, so we expect the law to be implemented in practice as well, not only on paper. Once again, the AGK invites all institutions to respect the laws in force that protect journalists' rights. Any effort like the latter towards journalists proves that its institutions are violating the law. On occasions like this we cannot talk about democratic state”, she said.

The Sefe Journalists network, which represents more than 8,200 media professionals in the Western Balkans, joins its member in expressing concern over the pressure he has been subjected to the Isader. The Sefe Journalists network requires institutions not to violate media rights and journalists, because it makes a country's democracy destabilised. We encourage all journalists not to back down even when facing such obstacles and to keep informing the public correctly.

The Sefe Journalists network will announce all relevant national and international actors regarding the case.

Each attack on journalists is an attack on public interest, democracy and the rights of all citizens.