Even Appeal in Slovenia rejects Martin Berisha's indictment against Slovenian journalist '%s' not documented libel

The news of Albanian Post has confirmed the media official of the District Court in Ljubljana, Mateja Jazbec.

The decision to reject Berisha's complaint has been made on July 7th, 2023.

The court's response explains that after the court ruling to bring down Berisha's private indictment, it has already been decided that even his complaint will be rejected.

The District Court's first-instance ruling said that the matter has “ended without legal effect”, since Berishaj has failed to document the alleged slanders in the text where it was shown for Berisha for the first time that he has the function of the mule in a criminal enterprise for money laundering.

About the question that you've addressed to the District Court in Ljubljana, subject II K 45570/2022, our answer is, in accordance with the Court Order, that in 17. 11. 2022, the Court has ruled that private lawsuits are dropped. After a complaint/appel procedure was held, the Supreme Court in Ljubljana dismissed the complaint as unbased at its session of 7.7.23 and confirmed the court's decision outside the hearing and the court's decision of the first instance”, says Mateja Jazbec's response to the Albanian Post.

Berisha himself, but neither the Government of Kosovo has announced at all that the ambassador's indictment has been dropped, despite having announced the decision to exercise indictments against Slovenian journalist.

On the other hand, investigative procedures are currently under way against Berisha himself for tax evasion in Kosovo after he received huge sums of money in cash by not declaring money he received in the form of payment from the GEN-I company, the branch in Belgrade.

Albanian Post has asked the Prosecutor in Slovenia whether they have been contacted by their counterparts from Kosovo in the course of this investigation.

The Slovenian Special Prosecutor has refused to provide an answer, arguing that pre-investigative procedures could be damaged.

On your questions, we inform you that we cannot provide information on possible preliminary procedures due to the interest of the process and personal data protection”, the state-run Special Prosecutor of the Republic of Slovenia said.

Comments have not provided even from Kosovo's investigative bodies.

Slovenian journalist Petrovic's publications had for the first time discovered several transactions on behalf of Martin Berishaj, who through his company with only one worker himself earned large sums of money from the GEN-Iey branch in Belgrade.

The UK Consulting company, whose ownership later admitted Berishaaj, had not been declared at all in the Kosovo Anti-Corruption Agency's organs when the ambassador declared wealth.

Asked on parliamentary commission “why you did not declare the company”, he said that “I forgot”.

It would later be understood that Berisha was paid “for consultations” by GEN-I even at a bank in Kosovo, at NLB.

When Kosovo's bodies began investigating Berisha, it was understood that he had escaped the tax, until the staggering withdrawal figures had taken them under the counterx0> for business purposes”.

Berisha at first had completely denied the accusations, calling them slander, but later with the parliamentary commission had accepted almost everything.

Berisha's case has been reported long in Kosovo, Slovenia, Croatia and other Balkan states.

One of the most widely watched shows of research journalism by State Television Slovenian “Tarča” has dedicated an entire episode to Berisha.

Slovenian reporters also had reported that part of the money Berisha received from GEN-I was also dedicated to the election campaigns of the Vetevendosje Movement and List Guxo.

The government has refused to dismiss Berisha from the ambassadorial position, until he has been constantly protected by Prime Minister Albin Kurti, President Vjosa Osmani and Foreign Affairs Minister Donika Grovalla.