21 years since the killing of Bardhyl Ajeti, Mehmeti: A crime ordered from the top against free speech

On June 25, 2005, journalist Bardhyl Ajeti died at a clinic in Milan after fighting for three weeks against the wounds he sustained in the assassination attempt of June 3, 2005. He had been shot on the Prishtina–Gjilan road, near the village of Bresalc, but was unable to survive his injuries.

Initially, after the attack, Ajeti received treatment in Kosovo, while later he was sent to Italy for more specialized medical care. Despite the interventions and efforts of doctors, he died on June 25, leaving a great void in Albanian journalism.

Even today, more than two decades later, the killing of the “Bota Sot” journalist remains among the most serious unsolved crimes of the post-war period in Kosovo. The case continues to raise serious doubts and concerns about the safety of journalists and the clash between free speech and the sensitive political climate of that time.

Regarding this event, political analyst Faton Mehmeti described Ajeti’s killing to “Bota Sot” as a direct blow against the free media, stressing that circumstances in that period were extremely difficult.

“The killing of Bardhyl Ajeti was a direct attack on free speech, respectively on ‘Bota Sot,’ which was the only media outlet that had not been captured by the war commanders and which reported true things that, for the time, were quite dangerous. Because let us remember that at that time the situation was very difficult. These people, whose masks later fell, were clearly seen to have had, as the aim of Kosovo’s liberation, the plundering of the state of Kosovo,” he said.

Mehmeti underlined that Bardhyl Ajeti should be remembered with reverence, while expressing surprise that the Association of Journalists of Kosovo has not organized any commemoration for him.

He also expressed skepticism that Kosovo’s institutions will manage to solve this case, adding that he hopes the post-war killings, including Ajeti’s, will be investigated by The Hague Court.

“Therefore, we remember Bardhyl with reverence. It is surprising how the Association of Journalists of Kosovo has never held any commemoration for the figure of Bardhyl Ajeti, who was killed because of free speech. It is not as if Bardhyli was killed for something else. So such a thing is unforgivable, but I remain hopeful that the post-war killings, including Bardhyl among them, will be clarified very soon at The Hague Court, because I do not expect Kosovo to have the capacity, even for a very long time, to solve this and deal with this murder. Because surely the people who gave the order were people with high functions; that is what it appears to be,” Mehmeti added.

In the end, Mehmeti stressed that it is difficult to believe Bardhyl Ajeti was killed without orders, while assessing that “Bota Sot” has continued its mission in defense of free speech.

“Otherwise, it is hard to believe that someone simply took up a gun to kill Bardhyl without cause, because Bardhyli had wronged no one, but it was simply ordered from above, by people whose balance had been upset, and in this way he was killed in an attempt to stop free speech.

However, ‘Bota Sot’ has continued its sacred mission toward free speech, and it still continues it today. This is what keeps it as a tribune of free speech, while Bardhyli remains its hero,” Mehmeti concluded for “Bota Sot”.