Abelard Tahiri

Hundreds of ex-fighters of the Kosovo Liberation Army, KLA, gathered outside parliament from the early hours of the morning on Thursday, inside the legislature, opposition MPs blocked a vote on the bill that includes a proposed increase in the minimum wage, but not for veterans.

According to the Pristina newspaper Koha Ditore, PDK MP Abelard Tahiri asked Kurti why he did not have the courage to tell the Prime Minister of Serbia, Ana Brnabi, who committed the crimes.

Abelard Tahiri, the head of Democratic Party of Kosovo, PDK's parliamentary group, called on Thursday for the dismissal of Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Donika Gervalla because she said in 2016 that she was willing to provide evidence material to the Kosovo Specialist Chambers in The Hague.

Justice Minister Abelard Tahiri confirmed on Wednesday evening that he has been summoned by the Specialist Prosecution in The Hague to give an interview at the end of October.

"Two weeks ago, I received an invitation by the Specialist Prosecutor to go there in the end of this month in the capacity of a witness," Tahiri told Pristina-based Dukagjini TV.

A bus enters Pristina Airport to pick up Kosovo citizens who were returned from Syria. Photo: BIRN.

The Basic Court in Pristina on Sunday remanded four terrorism suspects in custody for a month after they were returned from Syria by plane along with other citizens of Kosovo who were repatriated from the conflict zone.

According to this, Smith had "a series of meetings with international and Kosovo officials."

"In the course of his visit, he is meeting, among others, with the heads of international organizations, representatives of EU member states and Kosovo Justice Minister Abelard Tahiri, as well as senior officials in the Justice Ministry," Smith's office said.

The resignation offered by one Kosovo minister and possible dismissal of two more, all considered close to President Hashim Thaci, has fuelled speculation about serious rifts in the ruling Democratic Party of Kosovo, PDK, and its relations with Prime Minister Ramush Haradinaj.

Kosovo Justice Minister Abelard Tahiri handed his resignation on Monday to Prime Minister Ramush Haradinaj.

He was unhappy with the latest developments in the judiciary, including political interference in the judicial process, local media said in unconfirmed reports.

The unexpected resignation after alleged threats of Elez Blakaj, a special prosecutor who was investigating the abuse of Kosovo Liberation Army war veterans' lists, sparked consternation in Kosovo on Wednesday.

Few corruption-related court cases in Kosovo end with a prison sentence, BIRN Kosovo and Internews Kosova's annual court monitoring report for 2017, presented on Tuesday, said.

Since the first such report, 12 years ago, the project has monitored over 10,000 court sessions, revealing important evidence of violations and failings within the judiciary in Kosovo.