The office of the Prime Minister of Kosovo, Albin Kurti, has today addressed the Basic Court in Pristina with an official letter regarding the Court’s notification about the requested testimony from the Prime Minister concerning the issue of state reserves.<\/p>\n
The letter states that the Prime Minister has never refused to give his testimony regarding this matter and has expressed his full willingness to cooperate with the justice system and respect the principle of transparency and accountability, proposing that the interview take place in his office, a practice that has been followed in similar cases in Kosovo and beyond.<\/p>\n
However, the Prosecutor\u2019s Office has not responded to any proposal from the Prime Minister\u2019s Office, and therefore has not given any reason why it cannot interview the Prime Minister on the proposed dates and setting.<\/p>\n
According to the Prime Minister’s Office letter, Kurti’s request for this to happen in the Prime Minister\u2019s Office is entirely reasonable and cannot be interpreted as an evasion of justice. In light of this, with respect, the Court is requested to oblige the Special Prosecutor\u2019s Office to take the requested testimony within the Prime Minister\u2019s Office.<\/p>\n
Full response of the Prime Minister’s Office to the Basic Court in Pristina:<\/strong><\/p>\n Dear Judge Kurtaj,<\/p>\n With respect and seriousness that such a process deserves, on behalf of the Prime Minister of the Republic of Kosovo, Albin Kurti, the Prime Minister\u2019s Office wishes to clearly and unequivocally express the position of the Prime Minister regarding the invitation from the Special Prosecutor\u2019s Office and the Court’s Notification on the testimony requested from the Prime Minister concerning the issue of state reserves.<\/p>\n Please pay attention to the fact that the Prime Minister of the Republic of Kosovo has never refused to give his testimony regarding the matter in question. This has been made clear through the letters that the Prime Minister’s Office has sent to the Prosecutor\u2019s Office in response to their invitation for presentation. Furthermore, the Prime Minister\u2019s Office has proposed more than two alternatives for the dates and times of the interview, showing his willingness to answer any questions that any prosecutor or responsible official may ask regarding any matter with which the Prime Minister is knowledgeable and which is related to the work of the Government of the Republic of Kosovo. He has expressed his full willingness to cooperate with justice and respect the principle of transparency and accountability. However, considering the specific circumstances of the case and the institutional position he holds, the Prime Minister has requested that the interview take place in his office, a practice that has occurred previously in similar cases in Kosovo and beyond. The Prosecutor\u2019s Office has not responded to any proposal from the Prime Minister\u2019s Office, and therefore has not provided any reason why it cannot interview the Prime Minister on the proposed dates and setting. This shows a clear lack of willingness to enable testimony that, according to the Prosecutor\u2019s claims, is necessary to conduct investigations in the matter at hand. Had there been the will to interview the Prime Minister, the interview would have taken place months ago, on one of the dates proposed by the Prime Minister\u2019s Office itself.<\/p>\n Secondly, this position is neither an evasion of the process nor an attempt to seek special treatment. It is based on several essential factors, including:<\/p>\n Institutional viewpoint and respect for the position of the Prime Minister<\/strong> \u2013 The Prime Minister of the country is the highest executive representative of the state. For this reason, his schedule must be taken into account, especially considering his continuous institutional engagements, even in the field. The Prime Minister is the chief servant to the citizens of the country, and his agenda is tight. Moreover, we respectfully ask the esteemed Court\u2019s attention to the fact that the Prime Minister is being invited to testify in the case of the state reserves under investigation, as presented by the Special Prosecutor\u2019s Office, related to which the Supreme Court has dismissed any claims of criminal conduct through the abuse of official authority or other.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n Established precedents<\/strong> \u2013 There are documented cases in Kosovo and beyond (e.g., former French Prime Minister Jacques Chirac or former US President Bill Clinton), where high-ranking officials have been interviewed in their own offices and not at the Prosecutor\u2019s Office. Denying this fact by the Prosecutor does not change the reality, nor can it stop the application of a practice that has existed and can be applied again. The public has been well-informed about the violent removal of prosecutors from the Government building of the Republic of Kosovo by prime ministers who refused any form of cooperation in violation of any legal norm. However, it seems that their power against the Prosecutor\u2019s Office has reversed those actions. Prime Minister Kurti, despite his strong public stance on the existing corruption and crime around the Special Prosecutor\u2019s Office, has not refused to face his institutional responsibilities and has agreed to testify. As a sign of respect for himself first and then the Prime Minister, with the goal of obtaining the necessary information within the investigation opened, the Special Prosecutor\u2019s Office is always welcome to the Prime Minister\u2019s Office and to any ministry, agency, or other government body.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n The political nature of the invitation<\/strong> \u2013 There are strong doubts that this call from the Prosecutor\u2019s Office has no legal motivation but a political one. For years, the Prosecutor\u2019s Office has failed to pursue high-profile corruption cases, and instead of addressing these issues, it is attempting to create a false perception against the Prime Minister. This has been motivated by the Prime Minister’s public stance against the proposal to appoint Mr. Blerim Isufaj as the State Prosecutor. Therefore, we cannot ignore that every action of the Special Prosecutor\u2019s Office appears politically motivated and publicly unjustified. Therefore, in order to restore public trust in the independent and impartial justice institutions, as every citizen of the Republic of Kosovo and Prime Minister Kurti himself wishes to see, the esteemed Court should carefully examine every detail related to the Prosecutor\u2019s invitation and act based on the circumstances of the case, as the applicable legislation requires, and the impartial judgment of a fair judge. Therefore, in order to avoid political manipulation and unnecessary speculation, the Prime Minister has requested a clear and direct format of cooperation.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n The government\u2019s past actions and commitment to the rule of law<\/strong> \u2013 This is the government that has fought corruption, as evidenced by the situation on the ground and by credible institutions and organizations such as Transparency International and the World Justice Project. The independence of the justice system has only increased because there has been no political interference by this government in the judiciary or any other institution of justice that belongs to the public and citizens of the country. For the first time in Kosovo, high-level officials are following the path of justice, and no one is immune from the law. But this does not mean that we will accept the political instrumentalization of justice by those who do not want an independent and impartial system.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n Finally, but not least in importance<\/strong>, it should be emphasized that the interview by the Prosecutor could have taken place in December 2024 when the invitation was made. However, the Prosecutor\u2019s Office has chosen to waste time instead of being efficient and completing the investigation procedure, to delay any action and remain without significant outcomes for the public, only to achieve politically harmful and unforgivable projections for an independent justice system.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n Given the above, the Prime Minister\u2019s Office reiterates that the Prime Minister has been and remains ready to give his testimony. His request for this to happen in the Prime Minister\u2019s Office is entirely reasonable and cannot be interpreted as evasion of justice. In light of this, we respectfully ask the Court to oblige the Special Prosecutor\u2019s Office to take the requested testimony within the Prime Minister\u2019s Office.<\/p>\n Thank you!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" The office of the Prime Minister of Kosovo, Albin Kurti, has today addressed the Basic Court in Pristina with an official letter regarding the Court’s notification about the requested testimony from the Prime Minister concerning the issue of state reserves. The letter states that the Prime Minister has never refused to give his testimony regarding […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":23,"featured_media":76776,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[163,1803],"tags":[150,243,151],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n\n