Photo of post-war meeting in Zurich published, Mazrekaj recounts how Gjergj Dedaj had told him about being beaten by Thaçi and his testimony in The Hague

Xhevdet Mazrekaj, founder and publisher of the newspaper “Bota Sot”, has shared a photograph from a meeting held in the newspaper’s editorial office in Zurich right after the war ended, showing him together with Gjergj Dedaj.

During this meeting, according to Mazrekaj, Dedaj had forcefully affirmed that he was detained and physically assaulted by Hashim Thaçi and some other individuals during the war period.

Relying on that account, Mazrekaj offered him the opportunity to express himself openly through the newspaper “Bota Sot” and to publish his claims about what he said he had experienced.

“For a long time he continued to write and speak against Thaçi and his circle. Later, he accepted functions and benefits from precisely those structures which he had earlier accused,” Mazrekaj wrote.

He also brought attention to Dedaj’s later testimony before the Specialist Chambers in The Hague, where the latter had said that in most of the claims made after the war “he had not been normal” and that he had exaggerated some of them excessively.

“This photo for me does not simply represent a memory. It testifies how deeply an individual’s statements and positions can change, depending on interests, positions, and circumstances,” Mazrekaj concluded.