Kosovo: Imam Arrested For Extremism Sues Journalist Arbana Xharra for Defamation
After years of threats, including a vicious assault, for her reporting on religious extremism, the journalist now faces a lawsuit
Location: Kosovo, Pristina
Date: October 23, 2023
Imam Enes Goga is suing exiled Kosovo journalist Arbana Xharra for defamation concerning a 2016 article she authored on his extremist connections. The journalist who has dedicated her career to exposing extremism and advocating for women's rights in Kosovo continues to face threats even after seeking asylum in the United States. The Coalition For Women In Journalism urges the Pristina Court to dismiss this lawsuit, sending a message to the press in Kosovo that the law cannot be used to silence investigative journalism.
Over the past 12 years, journalist Arbana Xharra, who has been at the forefront of exposing religious radicalism in Kosovo, has received multiple death threats and was brutally attacked for her work. Now, Xharra is being sued by a religious leader she exposed in her investigations, Imam Enes Goga.
The lawsuit against Xharra concerns an article she wrote about Imam Goga's alleged leadership of the Wahhabism movement in Kosovo and his suspected connections with the police and judicial system. Goga has filed a legal proceeding to seek compensation for alleged defamation and insult. These allegations date back to 2016, when the article was published in the daily newspaper Gazeta Zeri, where Xharra was an editor. Eight years later, the Basic Court of Pristina has finally decided to take up this case, with a hearing scheduled for October 23, 2023.
Imam Goga also sued another Kosovo journalist, Visar Duriqi. In a June 2023 court ruling, the Basic Court of Pristina favored Goga in a case against journalist Duriqi. The lawsuit revolved around Duriqi's reporting on Goga's alleged involvement in the attack on the Sufi Century Tomb in Kosovo, an incident the US Department of State documented. Notably, in 2014, Imam Goga was arrested on terrorism charges but was subsequently released.
Xharra tells CFWIJ, “Imams arrested for links with terrorism were released because our judicial system is weak and corrupted. Despite all the facts and international reports on these imams and their links with radicalism, they are free, and moreover, they are suing journalists trying to clear their names.”
“These imams and their links with radicalism, they are free, and moreover, they are suing journalists trying to clear their names”
Frustrated by her inability to affect change as a reporter, Xharra lost faith in the power of journalism. In 2017, she explored creating an anti-terrorism office in collaboration with government contacts and a network of US and European experts. She believed she could make a positive impact from within the government. Xharra eventually resigned as the editor of Zeri and joined the Democratic Party of Kosovo (PDK), determined to make a difference despite the potential risks to her journalistic reputation.
"Before I joined politics, I was receiving threats,” recounts Xharra. “The red cross drawn next to my apartment, the threat from ISIS members directly mentioning my children, and hundreds of threats I received through social media. I came to the point where I thought I would be safer and more protected if I worked under an institutional roof but still continued my mission of fighting extremism in my country.”
Xharra's commitment to combating extremism led her to enter politics with an agreement to run the Anti-Terrorism Office. However, just three days after her official entry into the political arena, she was brutally beaten by unknown attackers on May 12, 2017. She explains how she was in Albania, speaking on live television about the rise of radicalism in Kosovo when, upon returning home, she was ambushed in her parking garage and beaten. She was immediately hospitalized with her injuries.
Arbana Xharra in hospital after May 12, 2017 attack.
Xharra says the initial response from local authorities to her assault was indifference, but after the intervention of the US ambassador, her case received some attention.
“When US ambassador Greg Delawie came to my home a few days after the incident, I told him that Kosovo Police is not taking my case seriously and asked for help from him. Then he talked to the head of the Kosovo Police, and after that, a forensic team came to take photos and ask me more detailed questions,” recalls Xharra. “Since then, I avoided public appearances. I had few events that I attended, but I was mostly home hoping that the security state institutions would do more on solving my case.”
“I avoided public appearances. I had few events that I attended, but I was mostly home”
Years later, Xharra tells CFWIJ that neither the police nor the prosecutor have taken action regarding her case.
After the assault, Xharra continued to receive threats, making her life a constant struggle for safety. In 2018, with the well-being of her children in mind, she decided to seek asylum in the United States, where she has lived for the past five years. Xharra returned to her journalistic work; she continues writing, attending TV debates in Kosovo virtually, and raising awareness of radicalism, women's rights, and social injustice in the country.
Reflecting on her time in the US, Xharra says, "I am protected physically in the US, but my case shows the reality of what the situation in Kosovo is. After how many years since I left Kosovo, these individuals and their network never stopped coming after me."
Vandals paint a cross in blood-red paint next to Xharra’s apartment in Kosovo, April 2017
Xharra's plight highlights the broader issue of press freedom in Kosovo, where many assaults against journalists happen with impunity, and attackers are rarely convicted. Journalism related to extremism is considered a particularly dangerous endeavor in Kosovo. Xharra says, "there is no journalist left that actively covers this topic because it's a high risk and there is no safety provided."
“There is no journalist left that actively covers this topic because it’s a high risk and there is no safety provided”
The Coalition For Women In Journalism stands in solidarity with Arbana Xharra, who has faced threats and a horrific attack for her investigations into extremism, forcing her to flee her home country. Now, after eight years, she continues to be harassed for her reporting. Journalists must be able to investigate religious radicalism without fear of being attacked, threatened, or sued. We call on the Basic Court of Pristina to recognize that the lawsuit brought by Imam Enes Goga is an affront to press freedom and immediately dismiss this case against Xharra.
The Coalition For Women In Journalism is a global organization of support for women journalists. The CFWIJ pioneered mentorship for mid-career women journalists across several countries around the world and is the first organization to focus on the status of free press for women journalists. We thoroughly document cases of any form of abuse against women in any part of the globe. Our system of individuals and organizations brings together the experience and mentorship necessary to help female career journalists navigate the industry. Our goal is to help develop a strong mechanism where women journalists can work safely and thrive.
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