Kosovo: Convictions For Planned Terror Attacks On Orthodox Churches
12. September 2019
(Radio Free Europe, www.rferl.org, 5. September 2019) A court in Kosovo's capital, Pristina, convicted four people on September 4 for planning terrorist attacks on international peacekeepers, Orthodox churches, and night clubs as well as abroad in France and Belgium. They were handed prison terms ranging from one to 10 years. Two others were ordered to serve shorter terms for failing to inform authorities of the conspiracy.
In October, the four were charged with planning attacks on NATO troops and bombings of discos and churches in enclaves with high concentrations of ethnic Serbs. A majority of Kosovo’s population of 1.8 million people are ethnic Albanian Muslims, with around 120,000 Serbs living mostly in the north. Two Belgian nationals, Bujar Behrami and Gramos Shabani, both aged 26, were arrested in September. Resim Kastrati, 26, and Edona Haliti, 25, were arrested in June. Some 300 Kosovars have gone to fight in Syria and Iraq, according to AFP. (Copyright (c) 2019. RFE/RL, Inc. Reprinted with the permission of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, 1201 Connecticut Ave NW, Ste 400, Washington DC 20036.)
In October, the four were charged with planning attacks on NATO troops and bombings of discos and churches in enclaves with high concentrations of ethnic Serbs. A majority of Kosovo’s population of 1.8 million people are ethnic Albanian Muslims, with around 120,000 Serbs living mostly in the north. Two Belgian nationals, Bujar Behrami and Gramos Shabani, both aged 26, were arrested in September. Resim Kastrati, 26, and Edona Haliti, 25, were arrested in June. Some 300 Kosovars have gone to fight in Syria and Iraq, according to AFP. (Copyright (c) 2019. RFE/RL, Inc. Reprinted with the permission of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, 1201 Connecticut Ave NW, Ste 400, Washington DC 20036.)