Hundreds of former political prisoners pending to be compensated, continuation of Commission mandate required

Despite the pain and torture they once had from the Serbian regime, the former political detainees (the detainees) have been a category discriminated against since the post-war. Although regulation of the procedures and compensation criteria of former political convicts was issued in March 2013, the Commission for recognition of the status of political convicts and former political prisoners has not yet been completed, reports Online Economy.

The cause of this is the conclusion of the Commission's two-year mandate, with the cases being seen and continuing its mandate is necessary.

The Online Economy has talked with the Secretary of the Government Commission about recognising the status of former political convicts and former political prisoners, Sefik Sadiku. Sadiku says that out of 6 thousand applications, more than 5700 have been completed. The others, it says, have not been completed due to the commission's mandate's expiration.

The “can roughly give a figure, but it may not be accurate somewhere around 6 thousand apps have been processed, more than 5700 people have benefited, the rest why the commission has not been carried out and the mandate has expired on August 11th 2023 the 2-year term followed by the current government”, Sadiku says.

About 6 thousand subjects are out of the question, and about 5 thousand are out of the question, and there are about a thousand other subjects for various works that the commission would have to be put back on their hands, and there's also a part that didn't even be compensated for dead ex-husbands, and there's also a second degree commission or a complaint commission, and that commission works, but in the moment that the Commission Secretary of the Commission's entire mandate contract has expired, and this commission can't work even though there are subjects to look into, says Sadiku.

Although they have sought to extend the mandate of this Commission, Sadiku says they have not yet received answers.

I was Secretary of the Government Commission, Secretary of the Commission and all necessary requests and paperwork to the Government to continue the commission's mandate on the basis of the needs provided. The government has failed to make the commission and reasons we do not know. We have conveyed them to the government through the ministry of justice that they have established the paperwork that we have conveyed through the justice ministry to the chief office and have not prosecuted it in the government yet, directly at the government meeting that the prime minister would need to continue his mandate to commission”, Sadiku said.

The request to continue this commission has also called for attorney Ardian Bajraktari. Bajraktari, who currently represents several former political prisoners, says their compensation is legal duty and should be carried out as such.

And as for the former convicts and former political persecutors, respectively, their compensation is also a legal obligation for the fact that it is the proper law regulating this case, and in my belief this obligation would have to process much earlier, but I have the impression that there has been a large number of requests, then we have come to the situation when it has not yet finished, Bajraktari said, as he shows the reasons that this process has not yet been completed.

The fact that hasn't been completed has a relatively long time when we don't have a functional commission, and in this direction I believe that the government is responsible for not functioning this commission, and in my conviction as soon as it functions and resumes this commission is better, because I just have a few requests from people who have submitted the application under the commission, but have not yet received answers. So I take this opportunity to appeal to institutions, respectively, the Ministry of Justice and the Ministry of Finance, to find a solution as soon as possible in terms of the functioning of this commission, and in order that this category which is, of course, among those who have contributed to the freedom of the country's independence to get what the law actually guarantees for compensation for all the sufferings that have been handed down by the former body of”, Bajrak says.

The Online economy has sought answers from the Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Justice, but the same have not returned.