The Basic Court in Prishtina has sentenced Agron Kyçyk to a four-month suspended prison sentence, with a probation period of one year, and imposed an additional measure prohibiting him from accessing social media for six months, following his threats against KTV journalist Ardit Kika.
The defendant, Kyçyk, pleaded guilty to the criminal offence of “Threat” against Kika.
The Association of Journalists of Kosovo (AJK) welcomes this decision and considers it an important step in the fight against impunity for attacks on journalists. AJK also reiterates its call on the judiciary to adopt stricter sentencing policies for attacks against journalists, which directly undermine media freedom in Kosovo.
Kika was threatened online following his reporting for KTV on a fake military drone factory in Gjilan.
The convicted individual wrote to Kika: “The only thing that will stop these people is liquidation in the name of the people. We’ve tolerated them long enough. We still have fresh graves from the war, and imagine—they’re working for Serbia and Russia. America is arming us and trying to get us into NATO as quickly as possible, while our media are spreading such false disinformation. Regards.”
AJK encourages all journalists and other media workers to report any threats against them to the Kosovo Police.