In a public statement released on Tuesday, BIRN Kosovo and Internews Kosova condemned the orchestrated smear campaign aimed at discrediting their two investigative television programmes, “Jeta në Kosovë” (Life in Kosovo) and “Drejtësia në Kosovë” (Justice in Kosovo), with false allegations of financial misconduct by the former director of the public broadcaster and by other media figures linked to powerful business interests.
These programmes, which have been broadcast on Kosovo’s public television service Radio Television of Kosovo, RTK, for more than a decade, are among the most awarded and widely followed journalistic productions in the country.
RTK’s former director, Ngadhnjim Kastrati, arbitrarily and unlawfully removed both programmes from the broadcaster’s schedule without the approval of RTK’s audiovisual commission or board, despite prior commitments to the European Union that the broadcasts would continue.
The removal followed a 2020 investigation by ‘Jeta në Kosovë’ titled “Unclean Energy: The Kosovar Who Would Own the Sun,” which uncovered corruption in public procurement procedures involving a powerful business group, the Devolli company, and saved the country 17 million euros. The investigation was also awarded the first prize by the EU for the best investigative story in 2020.
The latest smear campaign against BIRN Kosovo’s team includes false claims of financial misconduct and attempts to discredit both BIRN journalists and their work.
The current attacks...
By Curt Schroder Executive Director, PA Coalition of Civil Justice Reform The plaintiffs’ bar is working overtime to convince the Pennsylvania General Assembly to pass a state False Claims Act, or...