Pristina, October 23, 2021 – We, the organizations and activists noted below, express our concern with the lawsuit filed by Radio Television of Kosovo (RTK), against the activist and policy analyst at the GAP Agron Demi Institute. We ask RTK to immediately withdraw the lawsuit and in the future to refrain from actions that endanger the freedom of expression of activists and discourage the monitoring of this institution.

During the months of March and April 2020 Mr. Demi had written, among other things, the following: “I had added one more measure to preserve health: the immediate closure of RTK”. The public television claims that Demi’s criticism through Facebook statuses, accompanied by a request to shut down the public broadcaster, constitutes hate speech and insults to the television and its employees.

Mr. Demi’s criticisms are fair and represent the bitter truth about the public broadcaster RTK. These criticisms are based on facts known worldwide and supported by international and local reports and court decisions, which emphasize that RTK is a politically influenced institution, due to financial misuse this year its board was dismissed by the Assembly of Kosovo, about half million euros were stolen from the television by its employees, it has repeatedly refused to audit and independent journalists have been continuously censored, which had led to the protest of the journalists themselves against the television.

We express our deep disappointment that RTK, instead of working to improve the dire situation in which the broadcaster finds itself, uses judicial strategies to silence critics.

Further, we consider that the lawsuit brought by the public broadcaster has the characteristics of a Strategic Lawsuit Against Public Participation (SLAPP). This lawsuit is baseless and has no chance of success in court. Its purpose is to drag Mr. Demi to court, cause stress and financial cost and intimidate him.

We remind you that RTK is a public institution, financed by public money and subject to public supervision. As such, this institution should show a higher level of tolerance for criticism. Moreover, it is shocking that the public budget dedicated to RTK is misused in court proceedings to silence criticism.

Beyond the specific case of Mr. Demi, the very use of SLAPP lawsuits can have a deterrent effect on other activists who monitor and criticize the work of the public broadcaster. Such a dangerous precedent that stifles freedom of expression must not be allowed to be created.

The lawsuit was filed at the Basic Court of Pristina on April 17, 2021 and was signed by Mr. Ngadhenjim Kastrati. The lawsuit does not have the name of the lawyer, while the case will be handled by judge Fatbardha Uka Ibrahimi. Mr. Demi accepted the lawsuit on October 13, 2021 at his workplace.

We will closely monitor the judicial process and have full confidence that the Basic Court of Pristina will handle the case in accordance with the standards of the European Court of Human Rights and will recognize this lawsuit as a SLAPP.

Also, we remain hopeful that one of the first actions of the new RTK board will be to withdraw this lawsuit and prohibit the use of SLAPP lawsuits in the future. Finally, we call on the Media Committee of the Assembly of Kosovo to monitor the developments related to this court case.

Anti-SLAPP Group (Flutura Kusari, Shpresa Loshaj, Adriatik Gacaferri, Ardian Nrecaj, Visar Alimehaj, Rina Kika, Lévizja FOL, KCSF), GAP, Group for Water and Environment Protection, Center for Policy and Advocacy (QPA), Eye of Vision, Multimedia Center, Association of Independent Intellectuals in Deçan, PIPS, Balkan Sun Flowers Kosova, QKSS, Çohu, KDI, Walk Different , Group for Policy Research in the Balkans, D+, Center for the Development of Social Groups – CSGD, INDEP , BIRN, FIQ, Internews Kosova, CHwB Kosova, PEN, Organization for Quality Improvement in Education (ORCA), GLPS, TOKA, Institute for Freedom and Justice, KMDLNj, KRCT, KADC, YMCA Movement, AMPEK, CEL Kosova, Committee of Blind Women of Kosovo, Community Building Mitrovica, COLUMBUS Institute, IKD, YIHR KS, Democracy for Development (D4D), Kosovo – Women 4 Women, IPKO Foundation, Kosovo Initiative for Stability – IKS, RRGK, Balkan Green Foundation, EcoZ, Center for Kosovo Education – KEC, ATRC, Let’s Do It Peja, OMM “Gjethi”, KFOS, DokuFest.

 

 

Pristina, October 20, 2021 – The ad-hoc coalition of civil society organizations and activists held a press conference today, in which case it was announced that Kelkos has dropped the baseless defamation lawsuits against Shpresa Loshaj and Adriatik Gacaferi.

Lawyer Rina Kika, the legal representative of the activists, said that on October 18, she was officially notified by the representatives of Kelkos Energy about the waiver of defamation lawsuits against environmental activists Shpresa Loshaj and Adriatik Gacaferi. “Kelkos’s lawyers have forwarded me the official notices for renunciation of both lawsuits which have been forwarded to the Basic Court of Peja – Deçan Branch. They have given up both lawsuits, without any conditions and immediately”, said Kika.

According to her, giving up these two lawsuits proved what we have been saying all along, that Kelkos knew that he could not win with these baseless lawsuits in court and that the goal was never for them to win the process, the goal has been to intimidate activists who criticize the operations of this company. “Such lawsuits that attempt to silence public debate on issues of public interest such as environmental protection are harmful and should be strongly opposed by all.” she declared.

Meanwhile, the activist Shpresa Loshaj said that Kelkos has sued us thinking that we will be alone. “They thought that we will be alone and we will exhaust our energy protecting ourselves from them, but the energy for the protection of Lumbardhi is inexhaustible, thanks to the support of activists and citizens from all over Kosovo.”

Mexhide Demolli-Nimani, executive director of the FOL Movement, said that unfortunately the cases of Strategic Lawsuits Against Public Participation or SLAPP lawsuits are part of the Annual Report of the European Commission for Kosovo. “In the annual report on Kosovo of the European Commission, it is estimated that during the year there was a disturbing increase in SLAPP lawsuits filed in the courts, lawsuits which are used to threaten and sue journalists and civil society activists in order to intimidate them”. she said. According to her, the withdrawal of lawsuits by Kelkos comes as a result of opposition from a large number of civil society organizations and activists in Kosovo, who have repeatedly asked Kelkos to drop lawsuits against activists. Even the international organization for the protection of human rights, Amnesty International, had asked Kelkos in June of this year to withdraw from the lawsuits.

“I call on all activists or journalists who face SLAPP lawsuits to come to the FOL Movement, because we, through a group of lawyers who have offered their pro bono services for these cases. Also, within the website of the FOL Movement, we have already started documenting SLAPP lawsuits”.

Activists were sued for defamation due to statements criticizing the company regarding hydropower operations in Gryka e Deçani. In June of last year, Kelkos demanded from Shpresa Loshaj 100,000 euros in compensation for possible “image damage” due to her statements. Meanwhile, Adriatik Gacaferi has requested 10,000 Euros in damages due to a post on Facebook regarding the introduction of river water into the pipes of hydropower plants.

Pristina, October 15, 2021 – FOL has monitored the implementation of activities that were planned to be completed in the period March-September 2021 according to the Annual Work Plan of the Government of Kosovo – 15 Ministries and the Office of the Prime Minister. Out of 311 activities planned for this period of time, we received answers for only 267 activities.

The Prime Minister’s Office – within the framework of the Government’s Annual Work Plan for the period March-September 2021, has planned to carry out 16 activities, of which 5 have been completed.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Diaspora – within the framework of the Government’s Annual Work Plan for the period March-September 2021, has planned to carry out 31 activities, of which it has carried out 5 of these activities.

The Ministry of Environment, Spatial Planning and Infrastructure – within the framework of the Government’s Annual Work Plan for the period March-September 2021, has planned to carry out 24 activities, of which it has carried out 5 of these activities.

The Ministry of Justice – within the framework of the Government’s Annual Work Plan for the period March-September 2021, planned to carry out 26 activities, of which it carried out 14 of these activities.

The Ministry of Regional Development – within the framework of the Government’s Annual Work Plan for the period March-September 2021, planned to carry out 28 activities, of which it has carried out 17 of these activities.

The Ministry of Education, Science, Technology and Innovation – within the framework of the Government’s Annual Work Plan for the period March-September 2021, planned to carry out 11 activities, of which it has carried out 3 of these activities.

The Ministry of Economy – within the framework of the Government’s Annual Work Plan for the period March-September 2021, planned to carry out 10 activities, of which it has carried out 4 of these activities.

The Ministry of Defense – within the framework of the Government’s Annual Work Plan for the period March-September 2021, planned to carry out 2 activities, of which it has carried out all of them.

The Ministry of Internal Affairs – within the framework of the Government’s Annual Work Plan for the period March-September 2021, planned to carry out 46 activities, of which it carried out 18 of these activities.

The Ministry of Industry, Entrepreneurship and Trade – within the framework of the Government’s Annual Work Plan for the period March-September 2021, has planned to carry out 42 activities, of which it has carried out 13 of these activities.

The Ministry of Local Government Administration – within the framework of the Government’s Annual Work Plan for the period March-September 2021, has planned to carry out 8 activities, of which it has carried out 4 of these activities.

The Ministry of Finance, Labor and Transfers – within the framework of the Government’s Annual Work Plan for the period March-September 2021, planned to carry out 30 activities, of which it has carried out 5 of these activities.

The Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Rural Development – within the framework of the Government’s Annual Work Plan for the period March-September 2021, has planned to carry out 8 activities, of which it has carried out 4 of these activities.

The Ministry of Culture, Youth and Sports – within the framework of the Government’s Annual Work Plan for the period March-September 2021, has planned to carry out 31 activities, 7 have been carried out.

The Ministry of Health – within the framework of the Government’s Annual Work Plan for the period March-September 2021, has planned to carry out 32 activities, 15 of them have been carried out.

The Ministry of Return and Communities has not foreseen any activity for the period March-September 2021.

 

Pristina October 12, 2021 – The FOL movement continues the series of Open FOL debates with Ministers of Kosovo, where today the next guest was the Minister of Environment, Spatial Planning and Infrastructure Mr. Liburn Ali.

The topic of discussion was the realization of the Government’s Work Plan for the period March-September 2021, the priorities and the challenges that this ministry is facing.

This discussion was carried out with the support of the MATRA program of the Dutch Embassy in Kosovo and is implemented in cooperation with PIPS.

Pristina, October 11, 2021 – Today at the American Chamber FOL movement and Democracy Plus organized the information session about the Open Procurement Portal and Red Flags. The purpose of this event is to inform and talk with business representatives about public procurement in Kosovo, open data, as well as platforms that provide this data, such as the Open Procurement Portal and Red Flags. This informative session will serve to promote the aforementioned platforms and to promote the research of public contracts by Kosovar businesses. This activity was supported by USAID Kosovo – Transparent, Effective and Accountable Municipality.

Obiliq, October 8, 2021 – Today the FOL Movement has performed the show “Let’s talk with municipalities about public procurement” on Paper Radio 91.1, where guests were Yllka Buzhala from the FOL movement and Sherif Hoti from the Procurement Office in the Municipality of Obiliq – Official Page.

The topic of this show was Public Procurement in the Municipality of Obiliq and the presentation of the Open and Transparent Procurement Portal. These discussions are being organized in order to inform the general public about transparency and accountability on public procurement in the municipalities of Kosovo. These activities were carried out with the support of USAID through the activity of Transparent, Effective and Accountable Municipalities (USAID TEAM).

Pristina, October 6, 2021 – In this infographic, networking is presented, which aims to show the connection between businesses and institutions, more specifically it contains data about the business, the owner and the public institution.

Pristina, October 6, 2021 – In this infographic you can find information about the ways in which contracts can be found on the Open Procurement platform. (also photo editing).

Gjakova, October 5, 2021 – Today in Gjakova, FOL Movement and Democracy Plus organized the information session for the Open Procurement Portal and Red Flags. The purpose of these sessions that are being organized in the cities of Kosovo is to inform and talk with representatives of civil society and students about public procurement, open data, as well as the platforms that provide this data, such as the Portal “Open Procurement and Red Flags”.

These organizations also aim to encourage active citizenship to monitor and hold accountable the spending of public money by state institutions. This activity was supported by USAID Kosovo – Transparent, Effective and Accountable Municipality.

Prishtina, October 4, 2021 – The FOL movement today held the FOL Open debate with Ministers of Kosovo, where Jeta Tela – chief of the cabinet and Senior Political Advisor at the Ministry of Internal Affairs – was present today on behalf of Minister Xhelal Sveçla. The topic of discussion today was the realization of the Government’s Work Plan for the period March-September 2021, the priorities and the challenges that this ministry is facing.

This discussion is carried out with the support of the MATRA program of the Dutch Embassy in Kosovo and is implemented in cooperation with PIPS.

Pristina, September 23, 2021 – In 2018, the FOL Movement addressed a Request for Access to Public Documents to the Ministry of Finance on the process of evaluating properties along the construction route of the Pristina-Gjilan highway. These data throughout this period, despite the insistence of the FOL Movement for their publication, and despite the change of 3 parties in power, have been kept closed to the public.

The Ministry of Finance during this period, with various reasons, denied our approach to be informed about this process. Until today, after three years of public pressure and after a complaint to the Information and Privacy Agency, it was possible for FOL to have access to these data.

The data received by the Ministry of Finance will be analyzed and made public in the coming days.

The spending of public money must be transparent. Where there is a lack of transparency, there are suspicions of misuse.

Mitrovica, September 29, 2021 – In Mitrovica, FOL Movement and Democracy Plus today continued the series of information sessions for the “Open Procurement and Red Flags” Portal.

Activists and civil society representatives from Mitrovica today had the opportunity to learn how they can use the “Open Procurement and Red Flags” Portal to monitor and demand accountability for the spending of public money by state institutions.

This activity was supported by USAID Kosovo – Transparent, Effective and Accountable Municipality.

 

 

Prizren, September 28, 2021 – Today, in Prizren, FOL Movement and Democracy Plus organized the information session for the “Open Procurement and Red Flags” Portal.

The purpose of these sessions that are being organized in the cities of Kosovo is to inform and talk with representatives of civil society and students about public procurement, open data, as well as the platforms that provide this data, such as the Portal “Open Procurement and Red Flags”. These organizations also aim to encourage active citizenship to monitor and hold accountable the spending of public money by state institutions.

This activity was supported by USAID Kosovo – Transparent, Effective and Accountable Municipality.

Pristina, September 23, 2021 – FOL Movement and Democracy Plus organized the information session for the “Open Procurement and Red Flags” Portal. The purpose of this event was to inform and discuss with students about public procurement in Kosovo, open data, as well as the platforms that provide this data, such as the “Open Procurement and Red Flags” Portal, in order to encourage citizenship active to monitor and hold accountable the spending of public money by state institutions.

This activity was supported by USAID Kosovo – Transparent, Effective and Accountable Municipality

Pristina, August 26, 2021 – The FOL Movement held a press conference today, in which case it published the report “(Non) implementation of the Law on Declaration of Assets by the Government of Haradinaj, Kurti 1 and Hoti”.

Mexhide Demolli Nimani, executive director of the FOL Movement, said that this report, in addition to an analysis of the current law that is in force and the draft law that is being drafted by the current government, has also monitored the publication of asset declaration forms by the Anti-Corruption Agency and offers the data for each of the ministers and deputy ministers of the three previous governments such as the Haradinaj Government, the Kurti 1 Government and the Hoti Government regarding compliance with the legal deadlines for the declaration of assets on the occasion of appointment, the regular annual declaration and the declaration on the occasion of dismissal or the end of the mandate.

Meanwhile, Albana Hasani, researcher at the FOL Movement, said that from the main findings of the report regarding the observance of legal deadlines by the ministers and deputy ministers of the three governments, it appears that:

-Out of the 131 ministers/deputy ministers of the Haradinaj Government, only 62 of them had respected the legal deadlines for declaration of wealth when appointed to these positions (that is, within one month of being appointed to office), as well as the regular annual declaration, but none of he did not declare his assets upon handing over his official duties.

– Of the 45 ministers/deputy ministers of the Kurti 1 Government, only 20 of them have respected the legal deadline for declaring assets when appointed to these positions. However, only 15 of them have made the declaration of assets when they take office or when they are dismissed from office.

– Meanwhile, out of the 77 ministers/deputy ministers of the Hoti Government, only 32 of them have respected the legal deadline for declaring assets when appointed to these positions, declaring assets within the period provided by law. Meanwhile, none of the officials of this government have declared their assets when they take office or when they are dismissed.

These data, therefore, are based on the forms published on the official website of AKK. Also, it should be noted that, despite the fact that these officials did not declare their assets upon appointment, dismissal or dismissal, these officials do not appear “on the list of persons who have not declared their assets”, published on the web the website of the AKC. Details for each official from these three Governments can be found in the report by clicking here.

Based on these findings and the analysis of the current legal framework and the draft law that is being worked on by the Government of Kosovo, FOL gives the following recommendations:

• To increase the vigilance of public officials regarding the observance of the legal deadlines for the declaration of assets upon appointment, the regular annual declaration and the declaration upon the end of the mandate or dismissal;
• To remove the category of doctors, professors and university assistants from the list of declarative subjects of the declaration of wealth, which is foreseen to be made in the new Law on the Declaration of Wealth. This is because the inclusion of these categories would endanger the impossibility of implementing the law in practice, due to the lack of capacities and human resources of AKK, as well as it would affect their discouragement in performing their functions. The law should focus on senior public officials and some other categories that are potentially more exposed to corruption;
• Remove the possibility of accepting random gifts from public officials;
• To increase the cooperation of the competent agency with the police, the prosecution, the tax administration, the Financial Intelligence Unit and other relevant institutions regarding the exchange of data and information regarding the declaration of assets;

Pristina, August 24, 2021 – We, the organizations below, react to the lack of transparency in the case of the proposal of candidates for Constitutional Court Judges by the special Committee of the Assembly.

The special committee of the Assembly for the examination of candidates for appointment to the Constitutional Court, chaired by MP Adnan Rrustemi, has secretly developed the process for the selection of candidates for judges in the Constitutional Court.

Although in the initial steps of this process on July 22, 2021 (at the stage of preparing the test questions) members of the civil society had participated in the monitoring of the process, in the later stages (of testing and selection) the civil society was not informed about the meetings at all of the Commission, although some civil society organizations had submitted requests and expressions of interest to the officials of the Assembly and the chairman of the Commission. At the same time, the chairman of the Commission Mr. Rrustemi had informed those present at the initial meeting that they will be informed about the next meetings in time.

Such information never happened (despite all the requests made), while this Commission, eight days later, published on the website the news that it proceeded to the Assembly for the appointment of the short list of six candidates, where only two will eventually be appointed from the Assembly in the next sessions. This process took place without the participation of civil society — although the meetings of the Commission should be open and transparent in accordance with the Rules of Procedure of the Assembly.

We as Civil Society Organizations in Kosovo see with concern the fact that this Commission ignores the involvement of civil society in such an important process as the selection of judges of the Constitutional Court. The Commission has neither sent invitations to participate in the Commission’s meetings, nor has it responded to expressions of interest in participation sent to its address. This did not happen in the preliminary process for examining candidates for Constitutional Court judges, where civil society had actively participated. Changing this practice is incomprehensible and has no legal basis. Moreover, this action of the Commission fundamentally affects the integrity of the process of selection of judges of the Constitutional Court, whose eventual selection would be described as non-transparent.

This is not the first time that the Commissions of the current legislature ignore the important participation of civil society in monitoring processes of public interest. In the organizations below, we see such trends as very disturbing and call for such to be considered by the entire political and social spectrum in Kosovo. Above all, the current legislature must be clear about the role and importance of civil society, creating the necessary conditions for the exercise of its mission.

Signatory organizations:

Kosovo Institute for Law (IKD)

The FOL movement

Group for Political and Legal Studies (GLPS)

Democratic Institute of Kosovo (KDI)

Kosovo Foundation for Civil Society (KCSF)

Mitrovica, August 24, 2021- The FOL movement, within the framework of visits with students of the Faculty of Law, has organized the last visit to the Basic Prosecutor’s Office of Mitrovica.

The students had the opportunity, through these visits, to become closely acquainted with the work of the Chief Prosecutors and prosecutors of Mitrovica, Peja, Pristina, Gjakova, Prizren, Gjilan and Ferizaj.

Pristina, August 13, 2021- FOL has completed the cycle of lectures on legal provisions and the fight against corruption.

In the 10th lecture of this series, Isuf Zejna appeared, who lectured about corruption in public procurement.