Daut Haradinaj: The Haradinaj surname cannot be used as a shield for anyone

AAK MP Daut Haradinaj has reacted following the killing of Arlinda Zekaj in Peja, calling for any possible institutional failures to be followed by accountability, dismissals and punishment.

In a statement published on Facebook, he said the case must not become an object of political or parliamentary moralizing. According to him, the justice and security institutions must bear direct responsibility.

Haradinaj rejected any claim that his family name could serve as protection for certain individuals. He warned of legal consequences for anyone who mentions the surname without facts or in order to create the impression that someone enjoys immunity.

He criticized the state for its inability to protect women and called for any suspicion of influence, support or protection to be investigated and addressed through the relevant institutions.

In his statement, Haradinaj said that the killing of Arlinda Zekaj, a mother who lost her life in Peja, calls for concrete accountability, dismissals and punitive measures, not political statements.

He said that those who link the murder suspect to people in power, claiming that he had powerful support, must understand that silence, tolerance and inaction in the face of such cases could make them jointly responsible for a crime that could have been prevented.

Referring to the lawyer who had represented Arlinda Zekaj, Haradinaj questioned why the concerns had not been made public and why institutional intervention had not been sought before the tragedy. He said that, if there had been claims that the perpetrator was protected or influenced because of ties to the Haradinaj family, they should have been addressed responsibly and through institutional channels.

Haradinaj also called for a response from the Kosovo Bar Association regarding the statements made and for clarification of any issue related to her professional responsibility.

According to him, no photograph, even if it is claimed to have been taken “with God,” can justify such a crime. He stressed that no one can use the Haradinaj surname to create the impression that a person is untouchable.

The MP said this was not the first time his family had faced attempts to link it to various affairs, including the Pandora case, property disputes and accusations of banditry, which, according to him, had turned out to be fabrications.

He emphasized that his family and the Haradinaj surname do not constitute a shield for anyone. According to him, the only things the family has protected are freedom and Kosovo’s institutions.

Haradinaj described the state’s failure to protect women who end up as victims of serious shortcomings in the justice and security institutions as “a crime on top of a crime.”

He warned that anyone who mentions the Haradinaj surname without facts will face legal consequences. The same consequences, he added, will be faced by anyone who attempts to threaten a person by invoking this surname.

Meanwhile, Haradinaj called on anyone who feels threatened because of a connection to his family to contact him directly.

In conclusion, he said that the armed struggle had ended for them in 1999 and that, since then, their commitment had been focused on the security of every citizen of Kosovo, the country’s sovereignty and its future.