Death of Key Witness in Kosovo Sparks Concerns

Lipjan prison inside. Photo: BIRN

46-year-old detainee Naser Makolli died Monday afternoon while in detention, prompting officials from the radical Vetevendosje party to sound the alarm. Makolli was an important witness in an ongoing investigation into a previous death.

The opposition politicians stated Tuesday that Makolli had been a key witness in the November 2016 death of its activist, Astrit Dehari, at Prizren Detention Centre. The case is still being investigated.

Party leader Visar Ymeri wrote on Facebook that, “Naser Makolli was one of the last persons who saw Astrit [Dehari] alive, and one of the last who witnessed his last breath.”

The mayor of the capital Pristina, Shpend Ahmeti, also of Vetevendosje, expressed similar concerns.

“When Astrit Dehari died in a detention centre, the first person who entered in the cell was the prisoner Naser Makolli.

“Today, this key witness passed away in Lipjan prison, before Astrit Dehari’s death has been independently investigated,” Ahmeti wrote on Facebook.

Makolli was a former cellmate of Dehari, who had been in detention since August 2016 after his arrest on suspicion of terrorism for allegedly throwing an explosive device into Kosovo’s parliament building.

Makolli died while awaiting trial as a murder suspect. The crime allegedly took place in January 2016 in the southern Kosovan town of Suvareka.

The Ministry of Justice, which oversees Kosovo’s prisons, said Makolli died as a result of unspecified health complications at the central Kosovan Lipljan Family Medicine Centre, after being taken there for emergency treatment.

His brother, Hysen Makolli, told BIRN on Tuesday that Naser was not sick when they met for the last time two weeks ago.

He called on the prosecution to investigate his brother’s death.“They should investigate to shed light on why his death arrived so quickly,” he said.

Responding to Vetevendosje comments, the Corrections Service insisted that Makolli’s death had been because of health problems.

Kosovo’s prosecutor’s office said a prosecutor had taken part in Makolli’s autopsy and that they were investigating the cause of death.

Dehari’s death highlighted longstanding problems in Kosovo’s prison service, including poor healthcare, the unequal treatment of prisoners and low levels of security. It sparked a wave of protests.

Forensic Department officials said Dehari committed suicide. However, 17 days after Dehari’s death, inspectors from the Ministry of Justice suspended the acting head of the prison in Prizren, two supervisors and one correctional officer.

An autopsy 13 days after he died stated that the cause of death “was asphyxia – respiratory failure due to the closure of upper respiratory pathways by strong tool,” ascertaining that he killed himself.

The lawyer for the family, Tome Gashi, however claimed that Dehari had been murdered after publishing a report by two independent experts present at the autopsy.