Bomber against "Bota Sot" editorial office in prison
A man is currently serving an early prison sentence at the Zurich Airport Prison; he is alleged to have planned an attack in September 2002 using a fragmentation grenade against the editorial office of the Kosovo-Albanian newspaper «Bota Sot» in Zurich.
The first indictment was returned to the Office of the Attorney General of Switzerland in accordance with the corresponding decision. The decision of the Criminal Division of the Federal Criminal Court is dated May 22. It states that the defendant is charged with attempted multiple murder, endangering with explosives and poisonous gases with criminal intent, and violation of the weapons law.
The Office of the Attorney General of Switzerland (OAG) states on request that the indictment has been revised. It is already back at the Federal Criminal Court. The decision of the Federal Criminal Court shows that, according to the indictment, the defendant had planned to kill people from the editorial department. Also, other people would have been fatally injured on the terrace of the apartment of another planned victim. The hand grenade had been placed in a wine shipment in 2002. However, the ignition mechanism was not activated at that time when the package was opened. Explosives specialists of the Zurich cantonal police were able to defuse the hand grenade.
Statute of limitations looms
The indictment had to be touched up by the Federal Prosecutor's Office because it is essentially unclear who all were to be victims of the attack. The BA prepared the indictment within a short time. Because the crime took place almost 15 years ago, the statute of limitations is threatening to run out. The trial will take place in August or September.
Christian Schmid, lawyer of Xhevded Mazrekaj, the publisher of "Bota Sot", was not allowed to give any information about the case due to the secrecy obligation imposed on him by the Office of the Attorney General.
Early execution of sentence
On the same day as the dismissal of the indictment, the Federal Criminal Court ordered on May 22 that the defendant be allowed to begin serving his sentence early. The man had been in pre-trial detention at the Bern Regional Prison from January 31 to May 4. On May 11, at the request of the Office of the Attorney General of Switzerland, the Canton of Bern's compulsory measures court ordered the defendant's preventive detention until the date of the first-instance court's ruling - but no later than August 5. At the man's request, he has been transferred to Zurich airport prison for early execution of his sentence. According to an order of the Federal Criminal Court, he may not be granted parole because of the risk of flight.
"Bota Sot" journalist sentenced
In 2008, the Zurich High Court sentenced a journalist from "Bota Sot" to a conditional fine of 60 daily fines of 30 Swiss francs for defamation. The journalist had accused a Kosovar parliamentarian of ordering political assassinations as a member of the general staff of the Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA) during the Kosovo war. The Zurich district attorney's office had also dropped a case against the newspaper in 2002. It had been accused of racist statements and hateful propaganda against the Macedonian government. (SDA)
