More than two weeks have passed since Faton Hajrizi was reported killed, and his body has not yet been returned to his homeland. Last week, a swab of his mother’s mouth was sent, but there is still no information on how long it will take to return the results of her analysis. Security experts say that by the end of this week there will be concrete developments in identifying and clarifying the identity of Faton Hajrizi. The same say that the local institutions should have made a request to send a local expert to Serbia. However, the state has not yet received an official response regarding this case.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Diaspora has told KosovaPress that they are in communication with the QUINT countries, the EU mission in Serbia, the family of the deceased and the lawyer authorized by the family.
“The Liaison Office of Kosovo in Serbia has submitted three official requests to the Government of Serbia, through the Liaison Office of Serbia in Kosovo, to confirm the identity of the person killed on July 19, 2024 in Lloznica and the circumstances of the event. Also, we asked for the possibility of returning his body to Kosovo, but we have not yet received an official answer. On July 30, 2024, through the lawyer Arianit Koci and with the assistance of the Liaison Office of Kosovo in Serbia, a DNA test was performed by forensic experts from Belgrade on the mother of the citizen Faton Hajrizi at the ‘Dheu i Bardhë’ Border Crossing, on the Serbian side. The Serbian authorities have stated that it will take several days to carry out the DNA analysis. Until now, the Liaison Office of Kosovo in Serbia has not been notified of the completion of the analysis, and neither has lawyer Koci received any notification”, reads the response of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Lawyer Ardian Bajraktari considers that it is the obligation of the institutions to send a request for the involvement of a local expert.
Serbia will delay the drafting of the medical-legal report, adds Bajraktari, even though he emphasizes that in similar cases there have been no delays of more than two weeks.
Meanwhile, the security expert, Bedri Elezi, expects that the report on the identification of the dead body will be finalized by the end of this week.
He adds that the family is making continuous efforts to return the dead body to his homeland, even though it considers it difficult.
Faton Hajrizi had escaped from Smrekonica prison and was wanted by the Kosova Police. After a few days, he was also wanted by the Serbian authorities, as he was suspected of killing a policeman and injuring another in Lloznica, Serbia. Hajrizi was reported to have been killed in a place called Banja Kovilaça. /Sh. Pajaziti
