Request for investigation into Katsifas’ murder by
Albanian police
• To the members of the European
Council
• To the High Representative of the
Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Federica Mogherini
• To the members of the OSCE
• To the members of the Council of
Europe
• To the members of the UN and Human Rights
Council
Subject:
Murder of Konstantinos Katsifas by Albanian police forces
 |
| Φωτ.: Γ. Λεκάκης. |
On Sunday, the
28th of October, a member of the Greek National Minority (GNM) of Albania,
Konstantinos Katsifas, was shot dead by Albanian police special forces, RENEA.
The conditions and exact events that led to this killing remain a mystery, as
the Albanian authorities have not disclosed essential pieces of evidence.
Serious doubts and concerns have been raised regarding the rule of law in
Albania and whether its practices resonate with the prospect of EU accession,
or if it still stands by the legacy of the oppressive Hoxha regime.
For the
previous five years, Katsifas, a blacksmith of Greek and Albanian citizenship,
had been a prominent member and organizer of his community’s celebration of the
“OXI” day – the day that Greece turned down Mussolini’s ultimatum and stood its
ground to repel the fascist attack. “OXI” day symbolically commemorates
Greece’s immense human losses and sacrifices during WWII, as well as its
resistance to the quadruple German-Italian-Bulgarian-Albanian occupation.
During WWII, Vouliarates (Bularat), the village that Katsifas was born and died
in, and just 6 km from the Greek-Albanian border, was transformed into a
hospital for the wounded, and many deceased Greek warriors were buried at a
local cemetery, dedicated nowadays to their memory. Katsifas feared that
Albania would not fully comply with the previous or more recent promises
between foreign ministers of Greece and Albania in two respects: First, for
exhuming the bodies of almost 8,000 Greeks who died on Albanian soil during
WWII, and second, for providing them a proper burial. Albania has been stalling
for nine years to implement this bilateral agreement signed in 2009. Katsifas
was also actively seeking Albania’s conformity to its long-standing,
decades-old pledges to Greece and the League of Nations (cf. Annex 1), but also
to its newer ones to the United Nations and the European Union to provide
access to a Greek language schooling system to the members of the GNM (cf.
Annex 1). Albania not only has not fulfilled this responsibility, but on the
contrary, has been massively and persistently violating these mandates in
several ways, among which is devising numerous legal restrictions to the free
expression and practice of rights of members of the GNM. The record of these
violations is lengthy and not compliant with the essence of a modern state of
law that honors its signature, nor is it adhering to the international laws
pertaining to human rights. Indicatively, (1) in the era from Albania’s
foundation in 1913 until WWII the following took place: (a) a ban on teaching
Greek outside a minority zone, a zone precisely designed to exclude significant
parts of Greek population, (b) the forceful conversion of all Greek schools to
Albanian ones in those excluded areas, (c) dismissal of non-Albanian speaking
teachers, (d) reduced hours of teaching Greek and increased hours of teaching
Albanian, (e) the abolishment of private education which affected Greek schools-
the vast majority if not the only private schools in Albania at the time. All
the above oppressive measures resulted in the massive decrease of the number of
Greek schools from a high of 100 in 1924 to just a handful in 1933. All these
facts, unequivocally demonstrated the intention to achieve the systematic
‘dehellenisation’ of Northern Epirus and Albania in general and led to a
decision by The Hague Tribunal in 1935 (cf. Annex 2) that forced Albania to
allow Greek schools to function again. (2) After WWII and until today, the
presence of the GNM and therefore the right to have Greek language schools, is
acknowledged only in the so-called, re-designed “minority zones”, enduring
since the days of the Hoxha regime. The zones have been fixed to include 99
villages, while either vengefully or arbitrarily excluding significant Greek
settlements, such as those in the region of Himara. The religious rights of the
minority, which in its majority is Orthodox Christian, have also suffered
greatly especially during the communist era, leading to the imprisonment, exile
in forced labor camps, and death for thousands of victims. Konstantinos
Katsifas, a member of a community that has inscribed in its collective memory
the struggle to freely express its identity, many times in a hostile
environment, could not help but feel disappointment, betrayal and desperation
in the face of Albania’s political and legal system that did not respect its
obligations to him.
Katsifas was
involved in the preservation of the Greek heritage and culture by spending his
personal, limited financial resources to support the local Greek teacher. Each
year with his meager means he would also undertake the decoration of the
village and the military cemetery with Greek flags, some of which he personally
sewed himself, to honor the “OXI” day. These decorations are customary for all
people of Greek descent around the globe in the memory of the struggle of their
ancestors. In doing so, he echoed the message of love for liberty and life in
dignity, by exerting his human and constitutional rights as a member of the
internationally recognized GNM in Albania.
To this date
and to a great extent, the events remain unclear as to how and why Katsifas was
shot dead by Albanian police forces. Serious allegations by eye-witnesses,
family members, relatives and friends of the deceased point to the fact that
the police provoked his reaction and then murdered him, while the situation
could have been handled differently (cf. Annex 3-19). Unfortunately,
information is scarce and for the time being the Albanian authorities are
restricting access to any record of the actual events, while showing a
provocative lack of respect for the deceased and lack of cooperation with the
victim’s family. In an unprecedented demonstration of inhumanity and
disrespect, Katsifas body was returned to his family 10 days after the killing.
In the meantime, the family was denied access and examination of the body (cf
Annex 10-19).
We implore you
to investigate, in the context of your organizations’ constitutional principles
and in the capacity of your official jurisdiction to promote accountability in
individual States for the respect of human rights, the conditions and exact
events that led to Katsifas murder. More specifically, we wish answers to the
following questions:
1. Did Albanian police forces use
excessive and unjustified force in killing Katsifas? Could his killing have
been avoided?
2. Have the Albanian authorities treated
Katsifas fairly before and after his death?
3. Why did it take 10 days to release
Katsifas’ body to his family for proper burial?
4. Have the Albanian authorities at any
stage of the investigation destroyed evidence in order to cover misconduct and
non-standard practices and methods?
5. Had the Albanian authorities
terrorized, harassed, threatened, or provoked the victim prior to his killing?
6. Have the Albanian authorities
conducting the investigation demonstrated at any stage prejudice, racism and/or
hate against the deceased?
7. Were the human rights of the deceased
violated by the Albanian state authorities?
8. What can the International and
European community do to ensure that the rights of GNM in Albania are
unobstructed, that the situation is constantly and objectively monitored, and
that the not-yet-met commitments are duly implemented (cf. 21 page 25)?
With respect
to the death of Konstantinos Katsifas, the practices of the Albanian State are
not in the service of bringing the truth to light. On the contrary, as it is
further proven in the Annexures supporting this document, Albanian authorities
have systematically mistreated the deceased, his family and his community,
through both neglectful and wrongful actions, and are therefore unreliable in
the quest for answers. We frankly question the ability of the police and
judiciary system in Albania to release the evidence of the investigation in
fairness to the victim. Furthermore, we question the separation of powers in
the government of Albania, and fear that justice is being obstructed, since the
prime minister himself, Edi Rama, referred to the victim as a “lunatic” and an
“extremist” just hours after the events of the killing (cf. Annex 20), while
the investigation was supposedly still ongoing. This fact, combined with the
conclusions of the European Commission (cf. Annex 21) overall on Albania’s
progress report for 2018 regarding democracy, rule of law and fundamental
rights, do not engender confidence.
As a result,
we request your intervention to ensure that justice is served. More specifically,
we request the following:
1. The deceased’s family is not to be
harassed any longer by the local state forces and their rights are to be
respected.
2. The Albanian government is to make
publicly accessible all surveillance material that they possess from
authorities on the events prior, during and after the killing. It is vital that
the international community examines the unedited raw audio and video footage.
3. A thorough investigation on the
events leading to the killing is to be conducted. Therefore, a committee of
international experts with participation of Greek officials should be
commissioned to supervise, conduct, and guide the investigation.
4. Should the outcome of the
investigation be incriminating for members of the Albanian police force or other
State officials, a proper hearing and potential trial to be conducted, where
those responsible are charged accordingly and as ordained by local and
international law.
5. Should any members of the Albanian
state be proven through investigation and trial to be wrongfully involved in
murdering an innocent man, a proper apology and reparations to be given to the
deceased’s family and fellow countrymen by state officials.
This case
represents the most recent in a long series of cases of mistreatment against
members of the GNM who have been threatened, harassed and discriminated against
because of their origin, by both the Albanian state as well as individual
Albanians. The list of reported violations that the Albanian State either
failed to deter, has tolerated, or actively perpetrated is lengthy. Significant
among them are the recent compulsory expropriations in GNM areas, directly
targeting GNM property. Katsifas is not the first person of Greek origin who
has lost his life in Albania because of persevering for his minority’s rights.
In 2010 in the Himara region, Aristotelis Goumas was run down on his motorcycle
by three Albanians because in an earlier encounter in his store, he would not
cease – as the Albanians had demanded – speaking in his native language, i.e.
Greek.
We remain at
your disposal in order to provide further assistance in this task of outmost
importance towards consolidating human rights, peace and stability in a very
sensitive region with delicate balances and vital interests for Europe’s
development. Only by bringing to justice those responsible for the murder of
Konstantinos Katsifas no matter how high they are in the chain of command, will
Albania prove that it is a State where justice is respected. Unity will be
served in the broader region and a sentiment of security restored to the people
of Greek minority in Albania. Finally, the strategic partnership between Greece
and Albania that has been repeatedly strengthened by benevolent measures only
few of which are, the multi-front backing for NATO accession in 2009 and EU
accession more recently from the Greek state, will be allowed to prosper. We
hope that your actions and decisions will serve this purpose.
Yours
sincerely,
The Executive
Council of IHA
The
International Hellenic Association- IHA www.professors-PhDs.com is a
non-profit, non-partisan entity chartered in Delaware USA. Its members
primarily come from the academic sector around the globe. Beyond academicians,
among IHA members are included former diplomats, military officers, state
officials, journalists, entrepreneurs, scientists, free-lancers and other
pre-eminent figures of the Hellenic society. The purpose of IHA is to
electronically unite Hellenism and assist Hellas (Greece) through its
committees in matters of national and cultural nature.
Annex
Supportive
information of the main document.
1. Albanian Declaration of October 2nd,
1921 to the League of Nations Ratified by the Albanian Parliament on February
17th 1922
2. PCIJ Series A/B no 64, ICGJ 314 (PCIJ
1935), 6th April 1935
3. Albanian police had brought Katsifas
in for informal interrogations without any formal charges, as the victim’s
sister testifies, in an attempt to discourage him from expressing his patriotic
beliefs, especially in the last days before his death. His sister further
attests that he was under constant surveillance and many times threatened,
directly or indirectly. Eyewitnesses also have publically stated that on the
day of the shooting, Katsifas was again initially threatened, terrorized and
provoked by Albanian police, in reaction to the flags that he raised for the
“OXI” celebration. This constant harassment and oppression resulted in his
acquiring a hunting gun (not an assault gun as it had been originally leaked),
to protect his flag(s) from coming down and of course his life.
4. An 11-second video of Katsifas from
within the Vouliarates Café shows Katsifas with a rifle but not targeting or
shooting against a person. He was rather shooting to the air and certainly not
with any intention to kill. On the contrary, one of the bystanders in the video
can be heard saying: “the kid is dead”.
5. Katsifas did his compulsory military
service in Greece as a Greek citizen in the special forces. Therefore, he was
familiar with guns and if he wanted to take the life of any Albanian police
officer he could have done so. The fact that he didn’t, is another indication
that he had no intention to kill at any time.
6. Katsifas has been accused by Albanian
police that he shot at them with the intention to kill with an assault AK-47
rifle. To prove that, they provided photos of a police car which was shot on
both the left and right sides. However, testimony by eyewitnesses do not
corroborate these allegations. On the contrary, they point to the fact that he
was shooting blanks into the air with a hunting rifle called “Molot Vepr-12”
which looks like an “AK-47” but it is not.
7. Dozens of special forces police with
the help of a helicopter and a drone pursued Konstantinos Katsifas. Eventually,
he fled the scene, moved to the village’s water reservoir at the nearby
mountain and later was shot in the heart after being surrounded. Prior to his
death, Albanian police sent images to the media suggesting he had been
arrested; this was the original information. It was not until much later that
the news emerged that he was shot for resisting arrest while armed.
8. The family’s request for a Greek
forensic surgeon/coroner to be present during the medical examination of the
body was denied from the beginning.
9. No forensic analysis was done in the
area of the killing or at the place where the incident started, and no relevant
official information or documents have been presented either to the public or
to the family. However, Albanian police have leaked information that there
exists video footage that justifies their actions, showing Katsifas firing
against them and refusing to surrender.
10. Katsifas’ body, which was initially to
be examined by a coroner in Argyrokastro (Gjirokastër) by Albanian authorities,
was suddenly transferred to Tirana when the family’s lawyer and a Greek coroner
who travelled to Argyrokastro demanded to see and examine the body. Since then,
the body was being kept in Tirana until its release to the family, 10 whole
days after the killing.
11. Neither the family, its legal
representation, any third party or Greek coroners have been allowed to examine
the body. Under tremendous pressure and tensions, the family’s lawyer and the
Greek coroner were at last allowed to observe the body for 5 minutes before the
body was sent to Tirana. They were not allowed for even a moment to perform any
examination or lay hands on the body.
12. During this 5-minute allowance for
observation, it was evident that the victim had suffered two thoracic
perforating traumas which were both stitched, and the body had been washed
clean, thus removing any evidence and traces that would or could allow any
conclusions to be drawn later, even in the unlikely event that an impartial
coroner would examine the body in the future.
13. Blood stains and other trace evidence at
Katsifas’ hideout on the nearby mountain extend to some 70 meters, suggesting
that he was first shot and then captured and/or moved.
14. The family of the deceased Katsifas has
been denied its right to institute legal proceedings against the police for
manslaughter and/or murder.
15. When the family lawfully demanded the
return of Katsifas’ body, the Albanian prosecutor summoned the father of the
deceased to Tirana for interrogation.
16. According to the family’s public
testimony, Albanian police special forces behaved in an extremely aggressive
manner to the victim’s mother in her home after the assassination and they
looted the house during their raid.
17. On Wednesday Oct. 31st, 2018, Albanian
police practically extorted Katsifas’ parents to sign a document that states
they have no claim from the Albanian State in exchange for the return of the
body for burial.
18. A ballistics check and analysis on the
police cars that Katsifas allegedly shot at and on the victim’s body has not
yet been presented.
19. Many eyewitnesses, including the family
and people close to Katsifas talk about a staged provocation and execution.
20. Albania’s prime minister Edi Rama, only
hours after the incident tweeted the following statement: “Dear neighbors!
Instead of characterizing as unacceptable the loss of life of a lunatic who
shot at our police who were merely doing their duty, it would be better to
thank God jointly that today no innocent life was lost from the madness of extremism.”
It is obvious that in Albania the political authorities at the highest level
have clearly and explicitly intervened in an open investigation thus
dismantling constitutional separation of powers. Therefore, State bias against
the victim is to be expected, and trust in the actions, methods, reports, and
conclusions by State officials cannot be assumed; therefore, intervention by
the international community is deemed indispensable for shedding light on this
case. The question of whether, with his statement, the prime minister promotes
hate crimes and discord among the Albanian people, also acquires crucial
legitimacy and should be of concern as well.
1.European
Commission, Albania 2018, Report
12.11.2018.
Source: INTERNATIONALHELLENIC ASSOCIATION (USA), Claymont, Delaware, 19703 U.S.A, email.
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