Driton Gashi | Photo: Facebook.

Head of Kosovo Intelligence Agency resigns

The head of the country’s intelligence agency, Driton Gashi, stepped down two weeks after six Turkish nationals were deported from Kosovo.

Driton Gashi, head of the Kosovo Intelligence Agency, AKI, has submitted his resignation letter, almost two weeks after Prime Minister Ramush Haradinaj signed a decision to dismiss him and Interior Minister Flamur Sefaj.

Both officials were dismissed after the sudden deportation of six Turkish nationals in cooperation. Haradinaj claimed that he was not informed about the operation and had lost trust in both Gashi and Sefaj after the incident.

Yet, it was unclear whether Gashi, who is appointed by a joint decision of the PM and the President, would be let go.

On Tuesday, Gashi’s dismissal was finally confirmed by Donjeta Gashi, a government spokesperson. According to Gashi, he gave notice a few days ago.

The deported individuals, five of which were employees of the Gulistan Educational Institutions, were arrested and deported to Turkey in a joint operation involving Kosovo Police, AKI, and the Turkish intelligence. The deportees, who were legal residents in Kosovo, were deported because they were  “a national security threat,” Kosovo authorities claimed.

The subjects are suspected of having ties to the organization of the cleric Fethullah Gulen, which Turkey considers a terrorist organization.

Haradinaj, along with President of Kosovo Hashim Thaci and Speaker of Kosovo Assembly Kadri Veseli, condemned the arrests.

10/04/2018 - 22:20

10 April 2018 - 22:20

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