Elez Blakaj

"We are in a pandemic era, and people are dying every day in spite of their age and health. I am afraid I might die without my status being resolved," he said. "My family doesn't deserve this humiliation."

The Kosovo state prosecution told BIRN on Wednesday that it will appeal against Pristina Basic Court's verdict acquitting ex-premier Agim Ceku and 11 co-defendants of abusing their official positions to add people to a government-approved list of Kosovo Liberation Army, KLA war veterans eligible for benefits.

Kosovo police arrested MP Shkumbin Demaliaj for allegedly intimidating prosecutor Elez Blakaj, who resigned after saying he received threats while investigating fraud in the verification of Kosovo Liberation Army war veterans.

To counter accusations that he had interfered in the prosecution's work in the investigation of fake veterans, Prime Minister Ramush Haradinaj on Thursday published a letter that he sent to the now resigned Special Prosecutor Elez Blakaj - in which he expressed readiness to provide him with all the necessary documents filed in his office.

A street protest joined by opposition party supporters in Pristina on Wednesday demanded the resignation of the Chief Prosecutor, Aleksander Lumezi, over claims that he was undermining the fight against corruption.

Elez Blakaj, the Kosovo prosecutor who had been probing the controversial list of war veterans, on Monday said he had faced repeated threats over his work on the case.

"According to the information I have, in the investigation stage, we have obtained evidence that proves that 19,000 war veterans have illegally taken benefits from the [government] Commission on War Veterans and Invalids," Kosovo's state prosecutor Aleksander Lumezi told Radio Free Europe on Thursday.

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.

The former imam of Pristina's Grand Mosque, Shefqet Krasniqi, has pleaded not guilty to inciting terrorism at Pristina Basic Court.

He is on trial for three criminal offences: incitement to committing terrorist acts, inciting national, racial and religious hatred, and tax evasion.