Eight Months of Silence in the Case of National Security

Despite the importance of the attack infrastructure and the involvement of the Special Prosecutor, even the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) in the investigative process, no official information has yet been given about the motives, authors or conduct of investigations.

The institutional silence that followed this serious incident has raised concerns about lack of transparency in dealing with cases related to national security and the country's critical infrastructure.

Since July 17th, Albanian Post has been sending questions to the Special Prosecutor and the FBI to understand more about investigations and co-operation between them, but has received no answers.

Politologist Dritro Arifi claims that the lack of transparency in democracy directly undermines the credibility of government and justice institutions, as well as negatively affects the cohesion and authority of the legal state.

“The question of Kosovo institutions about the case of the attack on Iber-Lepenci for more than seven months, in a way, directly undermines the legitimacy of Kosovo institutions. Usually, in similar cases, in more registered or functional democracy, public authorities at least provide minimal, periodic information intended to maintain public trust and prove commitment to the investigation”, Arifi says of AP, broadcast Periscope.

This whole gap, according to Arifi, is creating space for dezination and conspiracy theory.

So this deep lack of transparency creates the perception of impunity and nonprofessionalism. Normally, this quickly affects lowering trust, both in the organs of justice and in the very mind of government”.

Meanwhile, lawyer Jevdet Smakqi explains that eight months after the event there is still no official information concerning the progress of the criminal procedure against the two arrested.

The “does not know whether the indictment was filed against them, whether they were released from the detention measure, or if other suspects have been identified and investigations have been expanded in the direction of organisers of the attack on the vital infrastructure of the Republic of Kosovo”, Smakqi says of the AP.

He adds that, from the legal point of view, the prosecution has a three-year term to conduct investigations until the establishment of the indictment or to establish their dismissal if the perpetrators are not identified.

However, given the importance of the issue for national security, the complete lack of transparency and concrete results, after nearly eight months of investigation, constitutes a major institutional failure and risks undermining public confidence in the efficiency of security organs and justice”.

Reforming the damage caused on the Iber-Lepenci channel in Zubin Potok seized the value of about 400,000 euros.

Kosovo institutions had declared that the attack was carried out with about 20kg of explosives and was carried out by persons trained for the use of explosive devices, which were activated with slow-burning fuses.

During the police action, over 200 military uniforms, six hand rocket launchers, three hand grenades, two AK-47 rifles, a gun, ammunition of different calibres, pieces of arms, fuses for launching explosives, military helmets, masks, knives, ready cash in euros and dinars, and other equipment.

The Iber-Lepenc Canal supplies water from Weyman Lake all over Kosovo's north, including Mitrovica, Pristina with the district, as well as the Kosovo Energy Corporation, to cool its thermoelectrics.

Kosovo has blamed Serbia for this attack, which it has considered a terrorist, while official Belgrade has denied everything.

For Kosovo authorities, this has been the most serious attack on the country's critical infrastructure since the 1998 1999 war.

The attack has also been strongly condemned by the United States and the European Union, which have called for those responsible to face justice. /Periscope