Murder, robbery and a lot of escape. Who was Faton Hajriz?

Arrested for the first time in 2000 for murder by a Russian soldier, Faton Hajrizi from the Skyright Community, would be transformed into a person with long criminal history and fame for many escapes from Kosovo prisons.

For the last time, he escaped from an open- type prison in Kosovo on July 6, 2024. A few days later, he became suspected of killing a police officer in Serbia and was killed while on the run by Serbian authorities on 19 July.

At the time of the last escape from Kosovo, Faton Hajriz was described as a disciplined prisoner who had even gained the right to go home at the weekend.

What was Faton Hayriz accused of?

It grew up in good family circumstances and went well until the war time of”.

This was one of the descriptions of Faton Hajriz's life story from the village of the Low Klin to Skenderaj in a 2001 judicial document.

This document is the earliest in Hajriz criminal history to begin in early 2000, a few months after the war between Serb forces and the 1999 Kosovo Liberation Army was ended.

According to documents he provided Radio Free Europe By the Kosovo courts, he was sentenced at least three times by two different courts for acts related to murder, attempted murder, theft and robbery.

Faton Hajriz is best known for killing a Russian soldier of the NATO mission in Kosovo, KFOR, February 29, 2000. He was 15.

As described in a decision by the District Court in Mitrovica, the murder had taken place in one of Skywright squares after Hajriz had originally taken his gun from the soldier and then wounded him.

The soldier with the initial I.K. then died on March 2nd of that year from his wounds.

Hajriz had been detained in various detention centres since the beginning of 2000, while with an act of decision in March 2001, he had been pronounced a “educational size” from one to five years, which would be located accurately later.

By this measure, it would be sent with a “Education Center” and “would be under the supervision of a professional team”.

It is not known exactly where Hayriz was sent after this decision.

But in some interviews he has given in recent months to the Kosovo media, he claims he had been sent over to the Correcting Centre together with adults and not minors, which he belonged to at the time.

In addition to killing the soldier, in the 2001 ruling, Hajriz was convicted of a case of attempted murder, three cases of thefts mainly of car parts, and two cases of car misuse (exploitation without their permission).

All these works, according to the court, were carried out mainly from the beginning of 2000 to the beginning of 2001 in Skenderaj, Drenas, Pristina and South Mitrovica.

The second court ruling for Faton Hajriz was again taken by the then District Court in Mitrovica on 24 January 2008.

This time he was convicted of two acts of armed robbery, which, according to the court, did in collaboration with someone else with initials B.B., in 2006 in Skenderaj.

In this robbery, they took money, phones, cigarettes and pay phones.

Hajriz was also convicted of illegal weapons.

He was sentenced to six years in prison, and weapons were confiscated.

At the time of his sentence he had been staying in custody since May 2006.

The Constitutional Court in Pristina told Free Europe Radio that Faton Hajriz was also sentenced by this court in 2019 for attempted murder.

This time he was sentenced to one year in prison.

REL has failed to provide data from other local courts concerning possible criminal cases or Faton Hajriz sentences.

“From the vent window of” Faton Hajrizi escapes

Hajriz is believed to have fled for about 9 times from Kosovo's correctional institutions, although the Kosovo Correcting Service (SHKK) has not confirmed the exact number. He has even declared to the media in Kosovo that has fled even from the US military base in Kosovo, Bondsteel.

The SKK, it had said that by the time of its escape, in July 2024, Faton Hajrizi had held 17 years and 5 months of his prison sentence while remaining seven years and 6 months in prison.

Year 2000

Shortly after his first imprisonment, Hajriz managed to escape from his hold.

Most of his escapes, at least three or four, had occurred about 2000, as described by official documents and Hajriz himself in media interviews.

In court alone, I was treated as a minor, not in prisons”, Hayriz had said in an interview for the “Justice Trust” broadcast on Kohavision.

According to him, the first escape had been carried out by the detention centre in northern Mitrovica about 5 am, leaving the toilet window.

In other escapes, Hayriz claimed that he had also cut the blinds with smuggled saws and had used the fan as an exit.

The District Court in North Mitrovica itself in its 2001 sentence, mentions that the 15-year-old had once escaped from the detention centre in Mitrovica in March 2000 and another time in November that year, at the Skenderaj Centre for Pre-burging.

Although not specifying the number, the pre-burging “also reportedly made an effort and managed to escape several times from prison”.

2005

Another escape from Faton Hajriz is described in an American State Department report.

According to this report, Hajriz had escaped from Peja prison in August 2005 and was later again captured in October 2006.

“He remained in custody at the end of (2006)”, the report said.

2007

Along with six others, Faton Hajrizi had also escaped from Dubrava Prison in Istog.

According to media reports at the time, “after crossing prison fences, the seven prisoners were expected by other persons who have started shooting at prison guards”.

2012

This time at Prizren's Pre-burging Centre, Faton Hajrizi escaped during the daily walk.

According to reports, he had crossed the wall of the court by “being caught for a flower of rainy water and through the thorn wire several circles, leaped from the high wall several feet”.

The shooting by the guard's gun, "Glock 19" has alarmed the situation, and very soon guards and police have been tracking fugitive”, Haser Berisha, regional police spokesman in Prizren, for the Calco.com medium.

Year 2024

For at least in recent months, Faton Hajrizi was standing in the prison of <x0type open” in Smreconica of Vushtrri, which means low security.

According to SHKK officials, he had used several times the right to go home over the weekend and even applied to do work outside the correctional institutions.

His escape took place on July 6, about 1: 00 p.m.

The correctional officials have been temporarily suspended until the investigation was completed, after allegedly failing to notice the removal of the convict through camera monitoring”, it was said in the USKK communiqué.

His escape then made headlines on social networks after Hajriz posted videos mainly on the TikTok platform, challenging the institutions that were looking for him.

You can't get me”, it was a dominant message in video.

Serbia Police Murder, Hyriz's Last Escape

After the last escape on July 6th, Hajriz's whereabouts were not known for a while.

His name was again mentioned on July 18th, when the murder of a police official was reported in Serbia in the western town of Loznica.

According to initial doubts, the handbill was gone, while documents of a person named Artan Hajriz were found on the scene.

It was later learned that Anthony was Faton's brother, who presented himself from Germany, claiming that his brother had stolen his documents to be used for escape.

As a murder suspect, Faton was on the run by Serbian authorities for several hours, until the Ministry of Internal Affairs announced that he was killed while leaving police.

However, Serbian Minister of Internal Affairs Dacic said Serbian authorities would request from Germany the extradition of his brother, Artan Hajrizi, who allegedly is an accomplice in the case.