In a public statement released on Tuesday, BIRN Kosovo and Internews Kosova condemned the orchestrated smear campaign aimed at discrediting their two investigative television programmes, “Jeta në Kosovë” (Life in Kosovo) and “Drejtësia në Kosovë” (Justice in Kosovo), with false allegations of financial misconduct by the former director of the public broadcaster and by other media figures linked to powerful business interests.

These programmes, which have been broadcast on Kosovo’s public television service Radio Television of Kosovo, RTK, for more than a decade, are among the most awarded and widely followed journalistic productions in the country. 

RTK’s former director, Ngadhnjim Kastrati, arbitrarily and unlawfully removed both programmes from the broadcaster’s schedule without the approval of RTK’s audiovisual commission or board, despite prior commitments to the European Union that the broadcasts would continue.

The removal followed a 2020 investigation by ‘Jeta në Kosovë’ titled “Unclean Energy: The Kosovar Who Would Own the Sun,” which uncovered corruption in public procurement procedures involving a powerful business group, the Devolli company, and saved the country 17 million euros. The investigation was also awarded the first prize by the EU for the best investigative story in 2020.

At its meeting on August 5, 2025, the Commission reviewed only the application for compensation through advertising space, “in accordance with the procedures set out in the marketing regulation,” specifically for the period until the end of 2025. It did not issue any decision or assessment regarding the inclusion of these programs

The latest smear campaign against BIRN Kosovo’s team includes false claims of financial misconduct and attempts to discredit both BIRN journalists and their work.

The current attacks are led by former RTK Director, Ngadhnjim Kastrati, now working for a television outlet linked to the Devolli family. During his time at RTK, Kastrati unlawfully intervened to stop the broadcast of BIRN’s programmes.

In a recent public statement, Kastrati accused BIRN Kosovo of misappropriating RTK funds.

“This is entirely false. Every cent received from RTK for co-productions was obtained through lawful procedures and audited by independent auditors,” BIRN emphasised in its public statement.

Kastrati, after being warned of potential legal action,  deleted parts of his statement that had elements that could expose him to a lawsuit.

He has also made false claims, such as alleging that BIRN Kosovo’s headquarters are in Belgrade. 

BIRN Kosovo is based in Prishtina, Kosovo, directed by Jeta Xharra, and overseen by a board of professionals. 

Kastrati has also dismissed the programmes as being “about nothing,” despite the programmes having won more professional journalism awards than any other programmes in Kosovo. 

He further claims—without any evidence to back these claims—that both politicians and diplomats in Belgrade pressured him to continue broadcasting the programmes. 

BIRN further stated that, “This is an attempt to incriminate ambassadors from QUINT countries and other advocates of media freedom who have supported independent productions in Kosovo.”

“All such defamatory claims will be addressed through legal action, and where they amount to incitement of hatred, through criminal complaints,” it emphasised further.

Misrepresentation of financial facts

Former RTK director Ngadhnjim Kastrati also manipulated figures related to the production of two BIRN programmes, presenting RTK’s total financial support over 14 years as a single large sum in an effort to mislead the public. 

RTK covered less than 30% of production costs for these programmes while the remainder was funded by international donors.

“We are proud to be among the few media organisations in Kosovo that publicly disclose all revenue and expenditure, ensuring full transparency for citizens,” BIRN noted.

RTK Radio Director Arsim Halili joined in on the smear campaign by falsely labeling BIRN as a “private entity” in a public social media post, when in fact it is a non-governmental, non-profit organisation. Halili also claimed that agreements between BIRN and RTK were made without procurement procedures and through unlawful arrangements. 

“This is 100% false. Every agreement between BIRN and RTK followed strict legal procedures. No audit report has ever classified these agreements as illegal. All investigations into RTK have confirmed their legality, and Kosovo’s courts have upheld them in enforcement proceedings,” BIRN stated.

Halili has also attacked members of RTK’s audiovisual commission, the body that evaluates independent productions, in an attempt to obstruct the legal requirement that at least 15% of public broadcaster programming be produced independently.

The documented truth

In 2020, Jeta në Kosovë (Life in Kosovo) aired the investigation “Unclean Energy: The Kosovar Who Would Own the Sun,” which exposed a corrupt procurement scheme and led to a 17 million euros in savings for Kosovo’s public budget.

The Devolli family lodged a complaint with the Independent Media Commission, ICM, which then declared  that the program failed to meet journalistic standards.

RTK, under Mr. Kastrati’s leadership, did nothing to defend the investigation, despite its legal obligation to do so.

In court, both the Basic Court and the Court of Appeals ruled that the programme met all professional standards, and ICM’s decision was annulled.

Despite this, RTK discontinued the programmes based solely on Kastrati’s arbitrary order, in breach of legal procedure and RTK’s own commitments.

“Since our ousting, we have continued to insist on our legal right to airtime on Kosovo’s public broadcaster. In 2022, BIRN reapplied to RTK to resume cooperation, but our application unlawfully ‘disappeared’ from RTK’s records and was never answered. In early 2025, RTK officially admitted that related materials had been erased from its online archives,” BIRN Kosovo’s statement goes on to add.

In 2025, BIRN reapplied to RTK’s audiovisual commission, which concluded that RTK’s programming should once again include “Jeta në Kosovë” and “Drejtësia në Kosovë.” .

At its meeting on August 5, 2025, the Commission reviewed only the application for compensation through advertising space, “in accordance with the procedures set out in the marketing regulation,” specifically for the period until the end of 2025. It did not issue any decision or assessment regarding the inclusion of these programs.

BIRN was only one among dozens of independent productions on RTK. Its contracts were the only ones that were confirmed legal after several investigations and public audits of RTK. In contrast, there are multiple ongoing indictments in Kosovo’s courts regarding abuse of contracts for other independent productions.

BIRN Kosovo’s team has earned  88 professional awards, reflecting their commitment to rigorous, fact-based journalism.