Kosovo: Women Press Freedom Demands Local Authorities Cease Attacks on Saranda Ramaj
Orchestrated online campaign discredits and harasses Ramaj and several news outlets for reporting on conflict of interest involving municipality
Location: Kosovo, Pristina
Date: February 10, 2024
Journalist Saranda Ramaj and media outlets KOHA and Kohavision faced attacks after their coverage of a property exchange involving the Municipality of Pristina and its mayor. Attempts to discredit the journalist and the outlets are malicious efforts to deter reporting on controversial matters involving public officials. Women Press Freedom denounces attacks and urges the municipality to condemn the derogatory and demeaning language directed at Saranda Ramaj, KOHA, and Kohavision.
In January 2024, allegations of a conflict of interest arose surrounding a proposal made by Mayor Përparim Rama of the Municipality of Pristina for the exchange of public property with a private property owned by two businessmen. Saranda Ramaj, a reporter for KOHA, raised concerns about the legality of this proposal, stating that it violates the law. Ramaj is a highly respected investigative journalist who specializes in public procurements has won multiple awards for her reporting. Other media outlets in Kosovo began investigating and reporting on the property exchange.
Following the media coverage, Mayor Përparim Rama accused KOHA of "disinformation," while the Director of Urbanism in the Municipality of Prishtina, Doruntina Maloku, made serious accusations about the outlet’s integrity. Meanwhile, several anonymous Facebook accounts, which recently opened, began posting derogatory comments about Saranda Ramaj while defending Rama and the Municipality of Pristina.
The Association of Journalists of Kosovo (AJK) condemned the attacks and believes they are an orchestrated campaign against Saranda Ramaj and the media outlets.
Women Press Freedom denounces the Mayor of Pristina and officials working at the municipality for attempting to undermine Ramaj’s important reporting. Investigative reporting of the exchange of public property is of great interest to the taxpayers of the city. Rather than engaging in efforts to discredit and sabotage the commendable work of Ramaj and KOHA, the municipality of Pristina should focus on addressing the serious allegations of wrongdoing highlighted in the reporting. We call upon the Mayor and his allies to stop their unjust targeting of Saranda Ramaj, KOHA, and Kohavision, who are merely fulfilling their journalistic obligations to hold those in positions of power accountable.
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