Kosovo PM Denies Knowing About Turks' Deportation

Kosovo's Prime Minister denied knowing about the rapid deportation to Turkey of several employees of Turkish colleges in Kosovo, allegedly linked to the exiled cleric Fetullah Gulen.

Police in Kosovo arrested them on Thursday, and they were deported to Turkey almost immediately - in a move criticised by senior officials, including the speaker of parliament.

Prime Minister Ramush Haradinaj on Facebook on Thursday said the operation was undertaken by the Kosovo Intelligence Agency, KIA, in cooperation with the police - but that he himself had not been informed about it.

Today, in the operation conducted by #Kosovo Intelligence Agency, 6 turk citizens have been deported. Myself, as the Prime Minister, was not informed about this operation, therefore I will act according to my legal and constitutional competencies.

— Ramush Haradinaj (@haradinajramush) March 29, 2018

Police arrested the Turkish nationals on Thursday morning. First reports stated three men were arrested in Gjakova/Djakovica and two others in Pristina, all of whom work for Mehmet Akif schools in Kosovo.

Haradinaj previously told a press conference that they were arrested because they did not have legal residence rights.

But Nazmi Ulus, director of the Mehmet Akif College in the town of Lipjan, told BIRN that their residence permits were valid until 2022.

Kadri Veseli, the speaker of parliament and leader of ruling the Democratic Party of Kosovo, PDK, criticised the arrests, indicating that he had no knowledge of the action taken. In a Facebook post, Veseli also said the arrested men had valid documents.

"Today's arrest of six Turkish citizens with valid residence permits in Kosovo, and Mehmet Akif College staff accredited...