For years, prosecutors in Serbia have been sitting on evidence of graft in the Belgrade real estate sector. Only when the country’s embattled president announced a crackdown on corruption was the man at the top finally arrested. Original post Here

ECHR Rules in Favor of Thoma Gëllçi Tirana Times,  Februar 25.The European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) in Strasbourg ruled today in favor of Thoma Gëllçi, confirming that his arrest was unlawful. This decision represents a significant legal and moral victory for the former director of Albania’s national broadcaster, RTSH, …

Tirana’s mayor Erion Veliaj, who is in custody facing corruption charges, has been mounting daily verbal assaults on his case prosecutor and the judge via his social media accounts. Original post Here

In Albania’s Elbasan, prosecutors say the town’s only fruit and vegetable market is the base of a powerful organised crime gang. That hasn’t stopped the local council from giving its owner permission to expand. Original post Here

In the latest in a series of corruption arrests in Serbia, the former mayor of Nis was held for allegedly offering contracts to companies for construction work in the southern Serbian city, bypassing laws on procurement. Original post Here

AI caused an increase in digital rights violations in 2024 while discrimination, genocide denial and disinformation continued to flourish, a webinar held by BIRN and the European Centre for Press and Media Freedom heard. Original post Here

Lutfi Dervishi It is not easy to summarize three eras in one sentence: post-war, post-wall, post-west. Historian, commentator, and author Timothy Garton Ash articulated this postulate two years ago in his book “Homelands.” Among these three eras, in one, we have been the luckiest country on earth. From a war-weary …

Elez Biberaj Having made such huge investments in Kosova, the U.S should now help it get to the finishing line in its efforts to cement its sovereignty and achieve lasting peace with Serbia. The United States and Kosova have had a unique, multi-faceted, special relationship. As any bilateral, asymmetrical relationship, …

Many Albanians in Yugoslavia came to see Albania as a promised land, but Albania’s treatment of ethnic Albanian writers and artists from outside its borders was often brutal. Original post Here

As cyberattacks in the region become ever more sophisticated and daring, Western Balkan governments need to improve their cybersecurity frameworks and cooperate, a new BIRN report warns. Original post Here