KOSOVO: ALBANIAN TEEN ATTACK ON ELDERLY KOSOVO

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 PRISTINA 000504

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

DEPT FOR EUR/SCE, DRL, INL, AND S/WCI, NSC FOR BRAUN, USUN
FOR DREW SCHUFLETOWSKI, USOSCE FOR STEVE STEGER, OPDAT FOR
ACKER

E.O. 12958: DECL: 06/28/2017
TAGS: PGOV KJUS KCRM KDEM PHUM UNMIK YI
SUBJECT: KOSOVO: ALBANIAN TEEN ATTACK ON ELDERLY KOSOVO
SERB WOMAN TESTS NASCENT JUSTICE SYSTEM

Classified By: COM TINA KAIDANOW FOR REASONS 1.4 (B) AND (D).


1. (SBU) SUMMARY: On June 12, an eighteen-year old Albanian
punched his elderly Kosovo Serb neighbor in the face,
breaking her nose. Police arrested the perpetrator the same
day, but released him less than 72 hours later since the
municipal public prosecutor did not seek detention on remand.
The initial municipal public prosecutor was replaced on the
case shortly thereafter, and his replacement filed an
indictment on June 20; the trial date has not been set, but
an initial hearing is scheduled for July 6. The victim
alleges that the perpetrator and his family have harassed her
for eight years and says that she and her two other elderly
minority neighbors fear for their lives. Both the victim and
the perpetrator live in extreme poverty in a former army
barracks in downtown Pristina just minutes away from USOP.
USOP has interceded at every step of the process to push for
indictment, trial and detention of the perpetrator, as well
as insisting that Kosovo authorities find new accommodation
for the victim. END SUMMARY.


2. (C) According to Kosovo Police Service (KPS) reports and
74-year-old Kosovo Serb Vukasava "Vuka" Ivanovic's statement
before the municipal public prosecutor on June 19,
eighteen-year old Kosovo Albanian Bashkim Ahmeti punched
Ivanovic in the face on June 12, breaking her nose.
Ivanovic's Kosovo Serb neighbor Zivka Lukic found her and
called police; she received prompt medical attention. The
KPS detained Ahmeti the same day, but released him after less
than 72 hours since the municipal public prosecutor did not
request detention on remand. (NOTE: Under Kosovo law, a
suspect may only be detained for 72 hours without a court
order. A prosecutor can request detention on remand for 30
days under certain circumstances such as risks of flight or
repeating an offense. If the risks and the offense allegedly
committed so warrant, the detention on remand may be renewed
for up to 18 months. END NOTE.)

Municipal public prosecutor's performance questioned


3. (C) The Municipal Public Prosecutor's Office replaced the
original prosecutor, Ibrahim Berisha, following complaints
from USOP RLA to Chief Municipal Prosecutor Tahir Rrecaj
about Berisha's handling of the case. On June 15, Berisha
told USOP he did not recommend continued detention for Ahmeti
because Ivanovic's injuries consisted of "slight bodily harm"
and the perpetrator "was not considered dangerous." Poloff
visited Ivanovic on June 14; her face was wrapped in
bandages, and her bloodied, broken nose was clearly visible,
belying his claim that her injury was minor. USOP later
learned that medical forensics expert Dr. Arim Gerxhaliu had
reported in his June 18 report to the Municipal Public
Prosecutor's Office that Ivanovic suffered a nose bone
fracture, which he characterized as "light bodily harm"
resulting in "temporary health damage." The new Municipal
Public Prosecutor assigned to the case after USOP complaints,
Aleksander Lumezi, filed an indictment against Ahmeti on June
20, charging him with assaulting Ivanovic and requesting a
public trial. A trial date has not yet been set, but an
initial hearing is scheduled for July 6.


4. (C) Rrecaj told RLA he believed the case should have
received more attention given that it was an incident of
inter-ethnic violence, and he agreed with RLA that Berisha
should have sought detention on remand. He vowed to punish
Berisha if further investigation revealed that he ignored
evidence or acted improperly, but pointed out that Berisha
likely decided against seeking detention on remand based on
the police and medical forensics reports he received. He
also admitted that Berisha had told him that Ahmeti was
graduating from high school and Berisha did not want him to
miss the ceremony.

After initially downplaying inter-ethnic aspect of case,
police take immediate action


PRISTINA 00000504 002 OF 003



5. (C) KPS Spokesman Veton Elshani (protect) initially
downplayed the incident to poloff, saying on June 14 that it
was "not ethnically motivated" and blaming the poor economic
conditions in which both the victim and perpetrator live.
Nevertheless, he was quick to point out that the police took
the case seriously. He said they assigned Community Police
to visit Ivanovic once a day and mobile patrol teams to visit
her two to three times a day. Zivka Lukic, the Kosovo Serb
neighbor who found Ivanovic after the assault, told poloff
that the KPS responded appropriately and were very helpful
when they arrived. Moreover, poloff and ICITAP program
manager met with KPS General Reshat Maliqi, the Assistant
Deputy Commissioner for Operations, on June 20, and he was
quick to condemn the attack. He promised to review the facts
surrounding the case carefully and to look into the manner in
which the police investigators presented the facts to the
prosecutor.

A long history of harassment


6. (SBU) What happened on June 12 was not an isolated event,
according to Ivanovic. During a June 14 visit to her "home"
in a former military barracks on the grounds of the sports
stadium in downtown Pristina, the elderly but spirited
Ivanovic told poloff and political assistant about the
conditions in which she and her neighbors live and the events
leading up to the attack. She said the perpetrator, who
lives just down the hall from her, has been threatening her
for her entire eight years in the barracks and she is
terrified he will try to kill her next time. She also feared
the attack may finally force her and her Kosovo Serb
neighbors out of Pristina. In her statement before the
municipal public prosecutor on June 19, Ivanovic recounted
how the perpetrator defiled her doorstep and tried to
strangle her. She said he and his friends used to pound on
her door with wooden bats in the middle of the night. Lukic
also spoke of harassment by Ahmeti, saying she had complained
to police several times and even tried to take Ahmeti to
court. Gen. Maliqi ordered KPS Public Order Department
Director Col. Sphend Maxhuni to research prior complaints
against Ahmeti and/or his family, but he claimed to USOP on
June 27 that there is no record of any such complaints. The
only complaints KPS said they uncovered were of what Maliqi
and Maxhuni called a "social nature" regarding problems with
electricity, water and trash removal.

Dismal conditions in the barracks


7. (SBU) Ivanovic's home consists of a tiny storage room in
the barracks. From the outside, the building looks like an
inner city slum. Inside, the walls are covered with graffiti
supporting the Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA). Her tiny room
is filled to capacity with boxes, clothes, a small bed, two
small chairs, and an ancient stove and refrigerator. She has
no working telephone (mobile or fixed),television, radio or
other electronic appliances. She also lacks a sink or access
to running water in her room and must bring in buckets of
water for bathing and washing dishes. She shares a communal
toilet with her Kosovo Albanian neighbors. At USOP urging
and after a specific request by COM to the Prime Minister,
Minister of Returns and Communities Branislav Grbic is trying
to find proper housing for Ivanovic and her Kosovo Serb
neighbors. In a June 27 letter to COM, he said the mayor of
Pristina is also trying to improve conditions in the barracks
and the Kosovo Government is considering a plan to relocate
them to Gracanica, a Kosovo Serb enclave near Pristina. USOP
is trying to determine whether these Kosovo Serbs actually
want to move to Gracanica since they have fought to remain in
Pristina for the last eight years.


8. (C) COMMENT: This unfortunate incident gives the Kosovo
Albanian leadership yet another opportunity to turn their
statements about building a multi-ethnic Kosovo into facts on
the ground, starting with one elderly lady who is a threat to
no one. We hope they will rise to the occasion. If Kosovo's
government cannot protect Ivanovic and ensure that her

PRISTINA 00000504 003 OF 003


attacker is brought to justice, their claims about commitment
to Ahtisaari begin to look more like rhetoric than reality.
USOP will continue to follow this case and advocate on behalf
of the Serb victim. END COMMENT.

KAIDANOW