Attacks and threats to journalists, lack of trust on justice institutions and failure to give the cases of journalists a priority remain a challenge in Kosovo. In 2019, three journalists reported about the attacks against them to the Association of Journalists of Kosovo, seven reported to have been threatened and two others have been obstructed from doing their job. Journalists are concerned about their work environment, while legal experts demand that justice authorities give importance to cases of threats to journalists.
Threats to journalists
While investigating a criminal case involving the Islamic Community of Peja, about the exhumation of a body to free space for another body, journalist Diamant Bajra faced difficulties doing his job.
After publishing the denunciation of the family whose member had been exhumed, he faced serious threats from the imam of this community.
“The entire exhumation took place in the absence of the relatives of the deceased and without them knowing about it. The case was then handed over to the police by a relative of the deceased, reporting the deed of the head of the Islamic Community, Musli Arifi. At that time, I published the report of the family on the case, which preceded the investigation I was conducting. During that time, the imam used his methods to find out more about me, my family and my family’s residence,” says Bajra.
Bajra, who works as a journalist for Gazeta Blic, says he had been threatened via phone when he called about the exhumation.
“I know who you are. Istog and Izbica are close to each other. I know you well. From now on, I have a personal issue with you. If you bother me again, I will report you to the police for harassment and slander. You are defaming. Therefore, if you call me again, you will be in trouble with me. Take it as you wish. Let this be the first and last time that you disturb me. “Istog and Izbica are not in the moon. Is this clear to you?,” he reiterated it to me, while he was also threatening my family that was living in the village of Izbica at the time,” Bajra tells citing the words of the imam of the Islamic Community of Peja.
This is just one of the cases of threats to journalists in Kosovo in 2019.
Even though, the Constitution and laws in Kosovo guarantee media freedom, journalists face major challenges as they do their job.
They are often the target of attacks, threats and offensive language while reporting about various issues in the country.
In addition to the attacks and threats, in 2019 AJK recorded six cases of offensive language used against journalists or media outlets, a case of intimidation and a case of obscenity and pressure on a journalist.
Journalists and legal experts say such cases receive a lot of attention in public due to the role of journalists and the news dissemination by the media. They call on the justice institutions to give importance to the cases of journalists.
After being threatened or attacked, journalists turn to the Kosovo Police, which responds to the requests for protection from threats or attacks.
Dorentina Thaci, journalist at KTV, was threatened in February 2019 for reporting about a teacher being attacked by another one. She says she has occasionally felt unsafe while doing her job.
“I was threatened in February 2019 by a teacher working at a school in Ferizaj. I wrote a chronicle, which was broadcasted on the medium I work at, KTV, about an assault case in which the teacher R.M had attacked a colleague at school. The threats I have received from that person did not affect me on going on with my job, however in some moments I have felt unsafe, due to his past. After that person appeared in the newsroom of Grupi Koha, and due to his behavior, we reported the case to the Kosovo Police. During the questioning, I noticed the police officers were not serious towards me,” Thaci says.
Cases of attacks against journalists are not prioritized by the justice authorities
Apart from the attacks and threats that journalists face, a major concern remains the failure of the justice authorities to prioritize their cases.
“I went to the Department for Threats on Journalism, to file a threat lawsuit, and my case was given priority. It was then forwarded to the Prosecutor’s Office on April 8, 2019. I do not think the Court treated my case as a priority, since a lot of time has passed and I have not received any official notification on its progress or where it stalled. During this time, I received only two phone calls from a prosecutor who asked me if I was interested in having my case in the hands of justice any longer. I have not contacted the court or the prosecution about my case, because I did not want my interest to be interpreted as pressure on their work,” says Diamant Bajra.
He says Kosovo still lacks a favorable environment for journalism due to the performance of the justice institutions which do not solve these cases and thus strengthen the role of threateners.
According to him, the situation is concerning also for the families of journalists, as often the threats are addressed to them.
However, even in cases where the threateners have been convicted, journalists find the sentences imposed to be ridiculous.
“Since that time I have not received any information over the case, until this January when I was invited by the Court to withdraw the lawsuit. The teacher was fined only 500€, which is unacceptable to me, but on the other hand, I believe it is a good act of the justice institutions. In my opinion, the environment for journalists in Kosovo is unsafe, and no engagement of institutions has been seen in recent years on this issue,” says journalist Dorentina Thaci.
Besim Kelmendi, coordinator at the Office of the Chief State Prosecutor, who deals with cases of attacks and threats on journalists, says such cases are given importance.
“Cases of journalists harmed while doing their job are usually given a priority, however each case depends heavily on the abilities of the Police and the damaged party to provide evidence,” Kelmendi says.
Kelmendi says six decisions were made for the initiation of investigation, and one to cease investigation.
The Prosecutor’s Office data of 2019 show 11 cases of journalists reporting threats on them and two more cases with no closure in 2018 have been carried over in 2019.
The urgent need to deal with cases of threats to journalists
Deputy Executive Director of the Kosovo Law Institute, Betim Musliu, says cases of threats to journalists and media outlets in general should be given absolute priority by the safety and judicial authorities due to the importance they have on protecting freedom of speech.
“Justice authorities in Kosovo have repeatedly tried to create the opinion that they are committed to treating these cases as priorities, but practically the opposite is happening. The truth is that cases of threats to journalists receive greater attention in public due to the role of journalists and news dissemination by the media, but the actions of the justice authorities, especially the prosecution and judiciary, are inadequate. The police are an exception because in most cases, they respond to requests for protection from threats or attacks, but the processing of these cases by the prosecution and sentences by the judiciary are inadequate and have so far failed to create a safer environment for exercising the profession of the journalist. The citizens will understand more directly that any threat to a journalist poses a great risk to them, as the consequences will be severe. This message has not been delivered by the justice system, which in principle punishes all those who threaten journalists by imposing fines,” says Musliu.
Betim Musliu, who is also the editor-in-chief and author of the show “Oath for Justice” has often received threats, including death threats. He did not want to tell publicly at the time they happened, but instead reported them to the police.
“I wanted to follow the legal path by reporting the perpetrators to the police, so that they be able to do their job independently, professionally and without public pressure. In my cases, the police have done their job properly and responded on time, but the justice authorities have failed to move further on conducting an in-depth investigation and to impose adequate sentences. Offenders who have made death threats against me have mostly been sentenced to a fine, which in one case was not even paid. This neglect of the justice system is a message for all the offenders, that they can threaten the journalists and remain unpunished, without any consequence,” says Musliu.
Deputy Executive Director of the Kosovo Law Institute says many departments of institutions in Kosovo have problems operating effectively.
According to him, the problems mainly stem from the inefficiency of the justice system, which is largely influenced by politics.
According to Musliu, all this affects the work environment of journalists to safely and freely do their job.
On the other hand, lawyer Skender Musa says courts in Kosovo do not neglect cases of threats to journalists.
“Based on the courts’ work on threat cases in Kosovo, I have not noticed negligence so far. One must remember that evidence is necessary for a case to be successfully proceeded and threats usually happen in places where evidence is difficult to be collected. I do not believe the court neglects cases of threats to journalists as the freedom of expression is among the basic human freedoms, and I have noticed that courts do give them importance,” says Musa.
The editor-in-chief and author of the show “Oath for Justice” considers that having a safe work environment for journalists and other professions requires improvement in respecting the rule of law, while stressing the importance of establishing an independent, impartial and professional justice system.
According to him, this independent and professional justice system would enable effective work in each department, thus providing journalists with proper protection by the state when threatened or attacked.
15 journalists are believed to have been killed since the end of the last war in Kosovo, but not a single person has been convicted or brought to justice.
Gentiana Kadrija / Journalist
News Agency KosovaPress