Pal Shtufi has shared his account of one of the episodes that affected him most deeply in his relationship with Riza Salihu, following the killings of Jusuf Gërvalla, Bardhosh Gërvalla and Kadri Zeka.

Speaking on “Dosjet,” a segment of the “Debat Plus” program, Shtufi said he learned of the killings of the three activists in the evening, through television. Several days later, Riza Salihu showed up at his home, around 700 kilometers away.

Initially, Shtufi believed that Salihu’s visit was intended to express his condolences. However, during their conversation, he realized that the purpose of the visit was different.

“After two or three days—I believe it was not the fourth day—Rizahu came to us. It was a major surprise. He had traveled some 700 kilometers. We thought he had come to offer his condolences, because there could be no other reason. And, as I also describe in the book, no, he had come for something else. The police had been looking for him, and he said, ‘I have no alibi,’” Shtufi recounted.

He said that at the time he did not even know the meaning of the word “alibi” and asked Salihu to explain it to him.

According to Shtufi’s account, Salihu said that he had been staying at his apartment but had no way to prove it. For this reason, his visit to Shtufi was intended to serve as evidence that he had been at their home.

“I had been at my apartment, but I couldn’t provide evidence that I had been there. So, in other words, I had to say that I had been here with you. We had to say, to testify, that yes, he had been here,” Shtufi said.

Shtufi said he refused to become involved in the request, while the situation inside the house became tense.

During the conversation, according to Shtufi, Riza Salihu also gave differing accounts of what had happened to Jusuf Gërvalla, Bardhosh Gërvalla and Kadri Zeka.

“He said, no, he hasn’t been killed. The Gestapo—that is, Hitler’s secret service—he said, had staged a scene as though they had been killed, but in fact they had taken them to other services, changed their identities and things like that; they had not been killed,” he recounted.

But later, according to Shtufi, Salihu changed his version, saying that the three activists had been killed.

“He said, yes, they were killed because the UDBA itself killed them,” Shtufi said, relaying the statement he attributed to Salihu.

This inconsistency prompted Shtufi to ask why Salihu needed an alibi if the three men had not been killed.

“So why, I asked, then? He said, well, they had done their job; they were no longer needed. I said, but what had they done, brother?” Shtufi recounted.

Today, Shtufi believes that Salihu may have feared that he and the other people would report him to the police. However, he stressed that at the time he did not understand the significance of the request for an alibi.

“I didn’t even know how important that alibi was. It never crossed my mind to call [the police],” he said.

After this, Salihu left the house. Shtufi said he accompanied him to a small train station.

“I even accompanied him to a small train station, and he left,” Shtufi said.

He added that Salihu was arrested that same day or the following day. About a year later, Salihu called him again.

“A year later, he called again and said: ‘The Gestapo’s papers burned in your hands. I got out of prison,’” Shtufi recounted.

Shtufi said that this incident had significantly influenced the way he later assessed Riza Salihu.

In the same interview, Shtufi also stated that Salihu had described Jusuf Gërvalla as a UDBA collaborator. According to Salihu’s claim, the Yugoslav secret service had sent Gërvalla to the West with the aim of destroying the Albanian underground movement.

Nevertheless, Shtufi said he was not convinced that Riza Salihu himself had been in the service of the UDBA and added that he did not want to draw a definitive conclusion on the matter.

The post Shtufi reveals what Riza Salihu asked him to do after the killings of the Gërvallas and Kadri Zeka appeared first on Albeu.com.

A holidaymaker who happened to be at the scene told Top Channel about the terrifying moments following the murder of 20-year-old Migel Mendes in Ksamil.

In an interview with Top Channel journalist Entjola Budo, he said they were very frightened and wanted to leave the place they had chosen for their vacation.

“When we got up this morning, we did not expect this because we were on vacation. We even wanted to move somewhere else. We were very frightened because this is a very serious incident.

We came here on vacation for some peace and quiet. There is music here every evening, and you can hear it even from the hotel. We got up at 7 a.m. to have breakfast, and then we saw that the police had cordoned off the area. It was a very serious incident,” the holidaymaker said.

The post Murder of 20-Year-Old in Ksamil, Holidaymaker Recounts Terrifying Moments: We Were Very Frightened, We Came for Peace and Quiet, but… appeared first on Albeu.com.

Halil Geci has made public a statement in which he claims that many Albanians were killed for political reasons after the war ended. He links this issue to the decision to base the Kosovo Specialist Chambers in The Hague.

According to Geci, a number of LDK activists were initially branded “traitors” and later killed. In this context, he mentions the ambush killings of Besim Dajaku and Bekim Kastrati, as well as the wounding of his brother, Gani, claiming they were attacked solely because they supported Ibrahim Rugova.

Geci also says that three assassination attempts against him were planned in Tirana and Durrës. He names several people who, according to his information, were involved in or connected to these plans. He claims the attempts were not carried out because he had been warned in advance and had taken measures to protect himself.

Geci recounts these claims as part of his personal experience, without presenting any new evidence to support them.

The full post:

Geci calls on citizens to listen to how, by whom and why, according to him, Albanians were killed after the war, and to reflect on why the Kosovo Specialist Chambers were established in The Hague rather than in Kosovo.

He writes that, based on numerous explanations made public, concerns over witness security and the ability to conduct trials without interference or intimidation were among the reasons the Specialist Chambers were based in The Hague. They are part of Kosovo’s legal system but operate in The Hague with international staff.

According to him, the same method was used to kill many LDK patriots who had previously been branded “traitors.”

Geci claims that Besim Dajaku and Bekim Kastrati, two of their friends, were killed in an ambush, while his brother, Gani, was wounded. According to him, the only reason was that they supported Ibrahim Rugova.

He says the first assassination attempt against him was planned in Tirana while he was at Ahmet Krasniqi’s Ministry of Defense. According to information he claims to have obtained, Skënder Misiri from the village of Rundik had been hired to carry out the killing, while the plot was uncovered by Sadik Rama from Gjurgjevik, who lived in Qerret.

According to Geci, another assassination attempt was later planned at Hotel Drenica in Durrës, owned by Gani Kapiti. He claims that, based on information he had received, a person from Drenica and Qerim Kelmendi had undertaken to carry it out.

Geci recounts that Gani Kapiti, unaware that Geci himself was the person in question, had warned him by saying that a man considered a “Serbian spy” worked at Ahmet Krasniqi’s Ministry of Defense and that this man’s brother had killed a commander. According to Geci, Kapiti had asked for this person to be ambushed, offering to pay whatever amount was requested. When he learned that the target was Geci, he regretted it. After the war, Gani Kapiti went to the Geci family’s tower house in Drenica and recounted what had happened.

According to Geci, the third attempt was intended to arrange his killing through a family friend. He claims that this person had been incited by Sabit Geci and others. However, after his friends, Sadik Rama of Qerret and the group formed to protect him uncovered the plot and began tracking those involved, they withdrew and abandoned the plan.

The post Halil Geci Says Three Assassination Attempts Were Planned Against Him After the War and Provides Details appeared first on Albeu.com.