PRISTINA, 27/12/2018 – Seeking justice was a lifetime struggle for Dijar Popova. So it will be until the end of his life, he repeats while talks about the assassination of his father, Shefki Popova, a journalist and political activist. These last 18 years, since the murder of his father, the doors of justice never opened for his family, says Dijar.
This family knows very little about the day of September 10th, 2000, when in front of his apartment, the former journalist of “Rilindja” left dead.
For 18 years, national and international institutions that came to help the Kosovar judiciary, failed to bring justice for this family and for 13 other families of journalists killed in Kosovo.
“It is suspected that the assassinators were two persons who were waiting in front of the apartment to kill him”, tells Dijar the only thing the investigators told him in 2000. Even today, the only fact that they know is that” Shefki was killed by two persons”.
During these years, the file of this case went from one department of the Police and State Prosecutor to another. It was also treated by the international missions that came in Kosovo to help the judicial system. Nevertheless, according to the family, they all failed to shed light on any fact that would unfold the truth about this murder, which remains completely mysterious.
A silent-gun murder that echoed loudly
The story of Popova family is quite similar to the stories of most of the families of 13 murdered journalists: Unidentified murderers who shot in the middle of the day on journalists and political activists, and everything else unknown. The assassinators of journalists after Kosovo war, were “helped” by silenced guns.
In December 1999 the journalist Afrim Maliqi was killed. For a period of time, he had worked at the daily newspaper “Bujku”. He was killed by the Serbian forces in the dawn of December 3rd, 1999. Until now, no one is convicted for this crime. In contrast with Maliqi’s case where it is known who gave the order, other killings of journalists remain completely enigmatic.
Enver Maloku couldn’t escape from the second assassination attempt, as he did months before his murder. Committed by unidentified persons, the second assassination attempt was fatal for him. From that day on, no detail for this murder is revealed.
Exactly in the same year, from the assassination attempt neither did escape the other journalist, Xhemail Mustafa. He was killed in November of 2000, in a location in “Dardania” neighbourhood called “Te Santea”. The assassinators were never identified.
At that time, Mustafa’s wife had told that she had seen from the balcony of their apartment the dead body of his husband lying on the ground.
“I was inside when I suddenly went out on the balcony and saw people crowded at the entrance of our apartment. I had a gut feeling that something bad happened. I immediately run through the stairs to see what was happening and saw a lot of my neighbours who were shocked. On the stairs I saw blood, a lot of blood”, had recalled Xhemajl Mustafa’s wife, Bahrije Mustafa.
Months later, another mysterious killing happened in Kosovo. The journalist of “Bota Sot” newspaper, Bekim Kastrati was killed in the afternoon of December 11th, 2001, while he was doing his job as a journalist.
Kastrati’s family, which lost his son, doesn’t stop seeking justice. “I never stopped. I’ve talked to UNMIK and EULEX but nothing”, says Hajriz Kastrati, the father of the journalist, an aged man living in Llaush, Skenderaj. He says that he has no hope that the justice will prevail in this case, but it’s his dream to see the murderers of his journalist son to be convicted.
“He liked writing so much”, says the father of murdered son.
The last 17 years for him and his family went waiting desperately for justice which, according to Hajrizi, doesn’t seem to come. But, he keeps saying that “he won’t stop”
“These years I took a lot of roads from Mitrovica to Prishtina and vice versa. Initially the case was in Mitrovica and then was transferred in Prishtina. Still nothing. Neither from our judiciary, nor from the internationals, the case wasn’t resolved. UNMIK once arrested some suspects but I don’t know what happened, they released them”, he says.
The mission of EULEX, which came from European Union to strengthen the rule of law, has closed the file case of this murder.
“EULEX has closed the file case but they said that if there is new evidence, it can be opened”, he tells.
4 years later, mysteriously was shot the other journalist of “Bota Sot”, Bardhyl Ajeti. He left dead in an assassination in 2005. The crime was described as well prepared, without leaving any evidence. One bullet hit him in his head, the second on his shoulder and the third one hit his car. After examinations done at Gjilan and Prishtina hospitals, a week later he was sent in Milano, Italy, where he died. 13 years after, the case of this murder remains resolved.
Kosovo’s institutions failed to bring justice also for the 6 Serbian journalists killed or disappeared between 1998 and 2000.
Ranko Perenic and Djuro Slavuj, journalists at Radio Prishtina were abducted and disappeared in August 21st, 1998, while they were going to Zoqishtë, a village located in Rahvec. They were both going there to report for a monk who has been abducted and then released. No evidence has been found by the authorities on his case.
Milo Buljevic was a journalist at Radio Television of Prishtina. He was abducted on June 25th, 1999, not so far from the refugee centre where he was living. From that day on, Buljevic is still missing.
There was no justice for other journalists as well. Marjan Melonasi, journalist at Radio Kosova was abducted in the day of September 9th, 2000, and he’s still missing. Meanwhile, journalist Alekandar Simivic was disappeared on August 21st, 1999, and his mortal remains were found in Obri village, near Drenas. But, there is no document of the judicial system that reveals any evidence or tells who might have committed the crime. Another case that remains completely enigmatic is the murder of the journalist Kristë Gegaj. He was a commentator and editor of the Serbian language program of RTV Prishtina. His dead body was found in September 13th, 1999, over a river in his birthplace, Istog.
Investigations postponed until “new evidence is found”
13 to 20 years went from the murder and disappearance of these journalists. Investigations without any result bring even more disappointment to their families. The State Prosecutor doesn’t have any statistics, except the number of killings. The number of cases resolved is zero. Even that the Chief State Prosecutor years ago said that he will appoint a coordinator to supervise the treatment of these cases, this measure hasn’t produced any results.
The prosecutor at the Chief Prosecutor office, Besim Kelmendi says that they inherited the files of these cases from the international missions.
“We have many cases that are in our institution and aren’t resolved yet. Some of them are from the time of UNMIK and EULEX, which were transferred to us. We don’t have any concrete information regarding the cases you are asking”, he said.
Kelmendi suggested to talk with the media coordinator of Special Prosecutor, Sylë Hoxha. The latter says that new evidence is needed in order to have results on these cases.
“If we receive new cases, of course we proceed them but for the moment, we don’t have any new evidence that would help any of these cases”, he said.
Activist from the civil society that monitors systematically the judicial system, say that this system intentionally didn’t resolve these cases.
The director of Kosovo Law Institute (IDK), Ehat Miftaraj, talks about the lack of seriousness of the judiciary on treating the cases of these murders.
“The fact that, from the murder of the journalists years and decades have passed, tells enough about the mission of the institutions on resolving these cases”, he said.
The fact that Kosovo believed their judicial system to the international mechanisms, according to Miftaraj, wasn’t productive.
“Kosova was unfortunate to partially give its judicial system to the international mechanisms as it was UNMIK and EULEX. These missions on one hand have promoted and demanded freedom and independence of the press in Kosovo, and on the other hand, the same missions completely failed to provide a safe environment, and in some cases, there were journalists who were victims of this system”, he said. “The fact that these missions didn’t treat these cases that they were supposed to, and then chose to transfer them to Kosovar authorities, tells about the hypocrisy of the missions of UNMIK and EULEX in Kosovo during the time that they had responsibility”, he adds.
The Specialist Chambers, the last hope for justice
Disappointed from the Kosovo judiciary, Bekim Kastrati’s family would welcome the Specialist Court to investigate the case of his murdered son.
“No one has called us yet. Sure it would be good if this court would take this case”, says Hajriz Kastrati.
But, on the website of the Kosovo Specialist Chambers, it is excluded the investigation of killings of the journalist after the war. However, some of the cases that occurred before 2001 could be under the authority of this court. This because the Specialist Prosecutor, which is directed by the Prosecutor, prosecute crimes that are under the jurisdiction of The Court, hence specified by the law.
“Those are war crimes and crimes against humanity committed during the years of 1998, 1999 and 2000, in a territory that today is the Republic of Kosovo, crimes that were mentioned in the Dick Marty’s report”, it is said in a written response given by this court for Koha Ditore newspaper.
Isuf Zejna, a researcher at NGO Democracy Plus says that the judicial system has lost credibility to find the criminals of these cases. The Specialist Court is the last chance.
“It is well known that the state of Kosovo, respectively law enforcement authorities have failed to treat these crimes and consequently, the only hope for these cases are the Specialist Chambers or the Specialist Court”, declares Zejna.
The treatment of these cases is a request by the European Federation of Journalist (EFJ) as well. In June of this year, EFJ has adopted a resolution that urges the Specialist Court, which is based in Hague, to investigate the cases of killed or disappeared journalists from both, Serbian and Albanian ethnicity, which are related with the conflict of Kosovo during the years 1998-2005. The resolution adopted in an annual meeting of EFJ in Lisbon, says that crimes against journalists and other media workers should be under the jurisdiction of Kosovo’s Specialist Court.
The son of the journalist Shefki Popova doesn’t even want that the case of his father to be treated again by the Kosovar judiciary, under the direction of the actual people.
“We don’t trust and we have no hope on national courts because this system is decayed, corrupted and politically influenced”, says Dijar Popova. According to him, this can be argued by the close relationship of the people that lead the justice institutions with the criminals.
But, for Popova, the path to justice for his father will continue. “Our path to find the murderer has started from the day of assassination and it won’t stop until the day when we will find the one who gave the order of this murder”, he points out. He repeats that he doesn’t care for the names of the persons who shot his father because, as he says, the justice will prevail only when the name of those who gave order of the murder of the former journalist, will be known.
By Saranda Ramaj, journalist