The Kosovo government spokesperson, Arlind Manxhuka, and ruling party MP Egzon Azemi have each been sentenced to one year and six months in prison by the Basic Court in Pristina on Tuesday, in a retrial for inciting division and intolerance.
In the same case, Qerim Elshani and Edi Zenelaj were each sentenced to six months in prison after being found guilty of making threats.
All parties have the right to appeal the decision within 30 days to the Court of Appeals.
Reaction and background
Following the verdict, Azemi wrote on Facebook that he and Manxhuka were convicted “without any evidence by an outdated justice system that releases Serbian terrorists.”
The retrial took place after the Court of Appeals last year overturned a previous ruling, which had acquitted Manxhuka while sentencing Azemi, Elshani, and Zenelaj to six months each.
What were they convicted for?
In November 2023, prosecutors filed charges against Manxhuka and Azemi for inciting division and intolerance toward a judge and a prosecutor in Pristina.
According to the indictment, on December 28, 2022, the two officials allegedly used their positions and social media platform Facebook to spread and incite hatred against judge Mentor Bajraktari and special prosecutor Afrim Shefkiu.
The reactions came after a court decision at the time to change the detention measure of suspect Dejan Pantić, a former Kosovo police officer accused of organizing a terrorist attack against Central Election Commission officials in northern Kosovo on December 6, 2022.
Prosecution claims
Prosecutors argued that their posts were inciting, dangerous, and aimed at influencing or obstructing the work of judicial authorities, potentially disrupting public order and damaging the personal integrity of the judge and prosecutor involved.
The post Kosovo Government Spokesperson and Ruling Party MP Sentenced to Prison for Inciting Division appeared first on Euronews Albania.
