Kosovo Activist’s Family Say Swiss Report Confirms His Murder

The family of the late Vetevendosje activist Astrit Dehari claim the results of an autopsy conducted by Swiss experts show he was murdered in detention in Prizren in 2016.

Dehari died in the correctional facility in the western Kosovo city after being arrested on suspicion of terrorism for allegedly throwing an explosive device in the parliament.

Kosovo police confirmed his death, saying he died on his way to hospital after falling into a coma induced by the medication he had taken.

In a press statement issued on Thursday, the family confirmed that they had received a copy of the Swiss report from the Basic Prosecution Office in Prizren municipality.

But the family's lawyer, Tome Gashi, told BIRN that the family suspected that the results of the report might have been manipulated, due to the delay in it being made public.

The family had requested the original copy of the report but had been denied this right until now.

"We haven't read the report yet, but thanks to the conclusions, it was murder," Avni Dehari, the father of the deceased, said during the family's press conference. He added that the family blames Kosovo Prosecutor Syle Hoxha and former justice minister Dhurata Hoxha for Astrit's death.

The Prizren prosecution office said in a press conference that its investigations would continue, insisting that the Swiss report did not rule out the possibility of suicide.

"The hypothesis of suicide by Dehari Astrit … seems probable, and a third person's intervention in the fatal process should be kept in mind," it said, also citing the report.

The prosecution office assured the family and the public that professional investigations would continue in accordance with the law.

"If necessary, overseas super...