The Prime Minister's Office has addressed a letter to the Basic Court in Pristina, requesting that it oblige the Special Prosecution Office to take the testimony of Kosovo Prime Minister Albin Kurti, inside his office in the Government.
On February 19, the Basic Court confirmed that the Special Prosecution Office had asked it to order Prime Minister Kurti to appear as a witness in an open case regarding suspicions of misuse of state reserves, after Kurti had refused two previous invitations.
In the letter sent to the Court, the Prime Minister's Office reiterated the previously expressed position that Kurti has not refused requests to give evidence, but he has requested to give the testimony at the Government premises.
"His request that this take place on the premises of the Prime Minister's Office is entirely reasonable and cannot be interpreted as a miscarriage of justice. In light of this, we respectfully request the Court to oblige the Special Prosecution Office to obtain the requested testimony within the Prime Minister's Office," the letter states.
The Prime Minister's Office claimed that there are practices where senior officials are interviewed in their workplaces and this could be repeated.
In the letter to the Court, Kurti's Office also cast doubt on the nature of the invitation.
"There are strong suspicions that this call from the Prosecution has no legal motive, but political. The Prosecution has failed for years to pursue high-profile corruption cases and instead of addressing these problems, is attempting to create a false perception against the Prime Minister. This is also motivated by the Prime Minister's public stance against the proposal for the appointment of Mr. Blerim Isufaj as Chief State Prosecutor. Consequently, we cannot help but see every action of the Special Prosecution as politically motivated and publicly unjustified," the letter said, requesting that the Court examine every detail regarding this invitation.
Invitations to Kurti
In December 2024, the Kosovo Special Prosecution Office invited Kurti to appear as a witness in an open case related to suspicions of misuse of state reserves.
Kurti had refused to appear at the Prosecutor's Office, calling on prosecutors to go and interview him in his office, at the Prime Minister's Office.
Kurti received the first invitation on December 16, when Government Spokesperson Përparim Kryeziu said that Kurti had not shown up because he was traveling abroad and added that Kurti "expressed his willingness to welcome the prosecutors of the case to his office on a day and time agreed upon by both parties to fulfill the request arising from the Prosecution's invitation."
Four days later, Kurti received another invitation from the Prosecution, to which he still did not respond positively.
But Kurti's invitation to be interviewed in his office has been criticized by legal experts. Ehat Miftaraj of the Kosovo Law Institute previously told Radio Free Europe that "if prosecutors lack professional courage," then not only the prime minister but also ordinary citizens "may mock and disrespect the authority of the Prosecutor's Office."
Otherwise, the Code of Criminal Procedure states that a judge, ex officio, or at the request of the State Prosecutor, may compel a witness to appear.
If, after the court order, the invitee does not appear at the Prosecutor's Office, the judge will fine him 250 euros each time he refuses. However, if he refuses even after the fines have been imposed, he can be imprisoned, but not for more than one month.
"Imprisonment lasts until the witness refuses to testify or until his testimony becomes unnecessary, or until the procedure is completed, but not more than one month," states the Kosovo Code of Criminal Procedure.
The case of state reserves
In 2023, three people were arrested in the state reserves case. Among them were employees of the Ministry of Industry, Entrepreneurship and Trade (MINT), led by Rozeta Hajdari, who, during her appearance as a witness at the Special Prosecution Office, chose to remain silent.
In 2023, raids were carried out at this ministry after the publication of audio recordings by the Nacionale portal, which claimed that a quantity of oil, purchased in Poland, and a quantity of wheat, purchased in Turkey, had never arrived.
The Kosovo government, led by Albin Kurti, has said that payments for state reserves were made in accordance with the law./ REL (A2 Televizion)
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