09. 06. 2005

JOURNALIST OF “BOTA SOT” STILL IN A COMA

PRISTINE, June 9, 2005 – Journalist Bardulj Ajeti is still in a coma, 5 days after being shot at by unidentified attackers. According to international sources, unidentified persons fired at Ajeti from a moving vehicle, leaving the journalist of daily “Bota sot” in a coma. Committee for protection of journalists reported that Ajeti was attacked in his vehicle on the way from Pristine to Gnjilane, when at least one person fired from another moving car, says in the statement of the Kosovo Journalists’ Association. President of the Kosovo Journalists’ Association Baton Hadziju said that Ajeti was reporting for “Bota sot”, a daily supportive of the ruling political party, Democratic Party of Kosovo, often criticizing the opposition. Journalists of daily “Bota sot” were frequently threatened, while one journalist of the daily, Bekim Kastrati, was murdered also from a moving vehicle, in October 2001. OSCE condemned the attack “Freedom of the media is one of the fundamental elements of the process of democratization. The attacks or threats to journalists put the safety at risk in Kosovo”, said Werner Wnendt, Head of the OSCE Kosovo Mission, Beta reported.