Response for media of the Kosovo Prosecutorial Council and State Prosecutor to statements of the Deputy of Vetvendosje, Rexhep Selimi
Pristina, April 6th 2019- The Kosovo Prosecutorial Council and the State Prosecutor consider that the statements of the Deputy, Rexhep Selimi, given in the "Imazh", in RTK on 5 April 2019 and the language used to the Chief State Prosecutor, the Prosecutorial Council Chairperson and the State Prosecutor's Office, constitute a threatening, unacceptable and extremely tendentious language and are intended to violate the integrity, independence and damage of the image of the Chief State Prosecutor and prosecutorial system in general.
On this occasion, we remind the Deputy Selimi, but also the public opinion that the judicial power is a special power and that the Kosovo Prosecutorial Council and the State Prosecutor are constitutional, unique, independent and impartial institutions built on constitutional and legal principles.
Therefore, such statements are contrary to the separation of powers and constitute direct intervention in the work of the Judiciary, respectively, the State Prosecutor. Within these principles, the Chief State Prosecutor is elected and accountable only to the Kosovo Prosecutorial Council, therefore his work, engagement and mandate depend only on the duties and obligations determined by the Constitution and the laws of the country, not the political wills, interest groups, and individuals, whoever they are.
The State Prosecutor and the prosecutorial system strongly supported by international partners are engaging in maximizing the advancement of internal mechanisms that will impact on increasing efficiency in combating various criminal offenses, strengthening the rule of law, significantly affecting public confidence in the prosecutorial system.
Therefore, in this context, a member of the Assembly of Kosovo should be an example of respect for the law enforcement authorities and refrain from such statements that are in opposition to the constitutional and legal principles. Furthermore, the State Prosecutor's Office and Kosovo Prosecutorial Council express great regret for the lack of seriousness statements, which are done intentionally at the time when all prosecutorial mechanisms have been put into concrete actions and commitments on vital issues for strengthening enforcement and rule of law in Kosovo.
So, once again, we strongly emphasize that Kosovo's prosecutorial system consists of professional institutions, established by the Constitution and laws, which are immovable in fulfilling their mission, vision and objectives and are unaffected by any claim, including the last reckless claim, untrue and tendentious of the Deputy Selimi, who has always served forces that have not helped strengthen the rule of law in our country.
In conclusion, we would like to inform the public opinion that the ongoing trends stemming from such political and nonpolitical statements have only one name: Unsuccessful attempt to smear and label the values that represent the application and rule of law in Kosovo.