BRUSSELS, 15.03.2017 – Shkelqim Hysenaj, the president of the Association of Journalists of Kosovo (AJK), and researcher Petrit Collaku met on Wednesday 8 March with Aleksander Lumezi, the Kosovo’s State prosecutor, to discuss better protection for the journalists in the country.
During the discussion, the AJK president shared his concerns regarding the inefficient justice system and the unsafe environment Kosovo represents for journalists. Shkelqim Hysenaj also presented to the state prosecutor the recommendations of the AJK report “The indicators of the level of media and journalists safety” published in December 2016. It recommends improving the effectiveness of the justice system when dealing with threats and attacks against media and journalists.
Both parties agreed to appoint a coordinator to deal with those specific cases involving working journalists. This decision will imply three new principles: the cases shall be treated as a priority; a database shall be set up to keep track of them; and the chief State prosecutor shall be informed of any actions undertaken in procedure on a monthly basis.
At the end of this meeting, Lumezi assured the attendees that the State prosecutor shall cooperate with all journalists, without any discrimination regardless of the media they represent.