Police Inspectorate: The claims about the expired tear gas will be verified

The Kosovo Police Inspectorate, in coordination with the Basic Prosecution in Pristina, has initiated ex officio a preliminary investigation in order to assess the police actions during the management of the protest.

The IPK confirmed to Radio Dukagjini that, as part of this investigation, in addition to the complaints received from citizens, the claims raised about the expiry date of the tear gas used during the protest will also be verified.

According to the IPK, both for the complaints received at this institution’s premises and for the cases initiated ex officio, investigative actions are already being taken, including securing video recordings and other evidence, taking statements and reviewing official police documentation related to the management of the protest.

“The IPK will take all necessary actions within its legal mandate to clarify the circumstances and, based on the findings of the preliminary investigation, will assess the further steps that may be taken,” the IPK stated.

During the protest, which was held with the demand for a vote on the Law on the Specialist Chambers, the former head of the KLA War Veterans’ Organisation, Nasim Haradinaj, had raised suspicions that the Kosovo Police had used tear gas of a 2018 model whose shelf life had allegedly expired. Radio Dukagjini had filmed those tear gas canisters, and they are the ones in the photograph.