CIVIL – Center for Freedom mostly strongly condemns the attack on Arbana Dzara, a Kosovo journalist and former chief and responsible editor of the newspaper “Zeri”, who late last night was attacked and brutally beaten in front of her home in Pristina.
A few hours before she was attacked, Dzara was a guest on the Albanian show “Octopus”, in which she fiercely criticized the policies of President Erdogan and of official Turkey, the violent Ottomanism and Islamism that is being carried out in Kosovo, revealed public figures, associations and institutions that are being financed from Erdogan’s funds, which directly or indirectly promote his policies.
She recently joined the Democratic Party of Kosovo and stated that she would use all possible democratic measures at her disposal – for Kosovo not to have any relations with Turkey and to fight against Erdogan’s policy.
The Kosovo police confirmed the case, and after being given medical assistance in the Pristina clinical center, Dzara was released from the hospital.
CIVIL does not see this attack only as an attack on a female journalist, but rather as an attack on the freedom of expression, and on the democratic principles and values.
CIVIL most strongly condemns the attack on journalist Dzara and calls on the Kosovo authorities and institutions for resolving the case as soon as possible and for the most severe punishment for the perpetrators.
Furthermore, CIVIL demands greater protection of Kosovo journalists, because this is not the first time that Dzara faces threats and violence. She constantly received threatening messages that unknown persons wrote on the walls of her house in Pristina because of her fierce criticism of the Kosovo government, as well as the announcement that she would become a member of the DPK.
