A Kosovo parliamentary debate on the death of Astrit Dehari, an activist from the Vetevendosje party, was interrupted when a minister from the ruling party said the issue was being “instrumentalised” in the interest of “pro-Russian circles”.

The accusation was made by Dhurata Hoxha, Minister for European Integration of the ruling Kosovo Democratic Party, PDK, who was Minister of Justice at the time of the death.

Vetevendosje MPs responded by banging on tables in order to drown out the speech, leading to a confrontation between the parties.

During the parliamentary session on Friday, Albin Kurti, the leader of Vetevendosje, demanded that MPs vote through a motion requesting the dismissal of Dhurata Hoxha as well as police officers who were on duty the day of the death.

Dehari died in detention in Prizren in November 2016 after being arrested in August on suspicion of terrorism for allegedly throwing an explosive device in parliament.

His death was ruled a suicide, although Vetevendosje continues to demand an international investigation.

Vetevendosje called Prime Minister Ramush Haradinaj to parliament in February to answer questions about the tragedy.

Read more:

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Kosovo Court Frees Activists Who Attacked Assembly