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On 16 August, 2017, director of the Insajderi online investigative news website, Parim Olluri, was attacked outside his apartment[1] after writing about the corruption of former Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA) commanders.[2] Olluri was hospitalized after suffering light injuries. The Association of Journalists of Kosovo (AGK) described the attack as "an attempt to scare journalists" that "violates the principles of Freedom of Press and Journalists," while urging a swift investigation.[2]
On 13 October, 2017, Olluri's Insajderi colleague, editor Vehbi Kajtazi, was also attacked. Following the attack on Kajtazi, AGK issued a statement saying that attacks against journalist in 2017 had increased significantly and that "Such attacks represent a serious concern about the safety of journalists and the freedom of press in our country."[3] The following day, Fitim Thaci surrendered to police and pleaded guilty for the attack.[4]
On 11 November, Taulant Osmani, a Balkan Investigative Reporting Network (BIRN) journalist, was verbally abused and threatened with physical attacked while covering a protest in Gjilan about the relocation of an anti-fascist monument. Osmani said he was shoved, cursed at and had his phone taken from him, before other residents intervened.[5] The following day, Kosovo Police said they were considering the case an attack and detained a suspect in relation to the incident.[6]
In March 2016, Prime Minister Isa Mustafa was widely condemned for allegedly threatening a journalist from the Insajderi investigative news website, Vehbi Kajtazi. After Kajtazi published an article revealing that the prime minister’s brother had been amongst tens of thousands of asylum seekers from Kosovo in Germany the previous year, Mustafa was accused of calling the journalist and verbally insulting him, before saying that he would "pay a heavy price." Mustafa denied that he had threatened anyone. Around 100 journalists protested in central Prishtina following the incident. A spokesperson from AGK told Kosovo 2.0: “When the prime minister does such a thing, how can we expect others not to. This once again shows that in Kosovo, freedoms are being breached more and more every day.”[7]
On 13 September 2017, Prime Minister Ramush Haradinaj was condemned by AGK for insulting journalists after he described journalists as "uneducated" and said that they should "go to school more." Haradinaj had been responding to a journalist's question in a press conference about a statement that had been issued by the US Embassy in Prishtina relating to a controversial border demarcation agreement with neighboring Montenegro.[8] Haradinaj said: “I have a lot of respect for the media, believe me, but many of you either don’t know how to read in English, or don’t want to understand what they said — the problem is yours. I don’t have a comment. Believe me, you are reporting without knowing how. Go to school more, listen to what they tell you.” He went on to say that he would only answer questions "when you are more accurate in what you say." AGK responded by saying, “Following with concern the statement of the newly elected prime minister, we would like to remind [everyone] that the mission of journalists is to ask questions each time they need answers, and that no one can control the content of those questions,” to which Haradinaj's office responded: “We are sorry if somebody, out of ignorance or on purpose, has made inaccurate portrayals of this nature.”[9]
