With handcuffs on his hands, a 27-year-old man died at midnight on the asphalt in Lipjan, surrounded by several police officers who apparently used their knees to arrest him. The end of Agon Zejnullah's life is being compared to the killing of George Floyd in the US by the Police.
Express newspaper
A 27-year-old man died in handcuffs in the early hours of Monday on Haradin Bajrami Street in Lipjan. Police officers, who were handcuffed themselves in the evening, were said to have intervened to neutralize Agon Zejnullah after he was “suspected of being under the influence of alcohol, attacking vehicles and passersby,” according to the Police.
A sergeant and four other police officers involved in this case were arrested last night by the Kosovo Police Inspectorate.
The IPK said that it had previously interviewed them, and that evidence had been collected and investigative actions had been carried out during the day. The police officers were ordered to be detained for 48 hours.
"As part of the investigation, many other investigative actions are expected to be taken towards clarifying all the circumstances surrounding this incident, and the results of examinations, including forensic ones, are also awaited," the Police Inspectorate warned.
The death of the citizen and the police response were investigated by PIK investigators on Monday in coordination with the State Prosecutor's Office. Eyewitnesses were identified and interviewed, and material evidence was collected, mainly recordings from security cameras and from witnesses' phones.
Valdet Hoxha, former chief of the Kosovo Police Inspectorate, said that the medical report "found that at the moment they determined his death, the citizen had handcuffs on his hands."
The case has drawn comparisons to the 2020 killing of African-American George Floyd by a US police officer, who was sentenced to 22 years and six months in prison. The 46-year-old was filmed screaming “I can’t breathe” as the officer knelt on his neck. It sparked widespread protests in the US against racism and police brutality and has spurred efforts for police reform at the national level.
"When you watch the full video, you will be convinced that this is the same case as George Floyd, who weighed down all of America. Painful. Tragic. Agon Zejnullahu could have been the child, brother, son, of each of us... Regardless of what he may have said, what he may have done, he did not deserve to die at the hands of our police, the Kosovo police...", wrote journalist Ilir Mirena on Facebook.
After him, the Floyd case, in this context, was also mentioned by lawyer Arianit Koci.
"George Floyd dies – at the hands of the police – all of America is on its feet. Protests, chaos, pressure. The country is shaking. The protests after the murder of George Floyd were so massive and tense that the American President was forced to go into a bunker. Here, a 27-year-old man dies – at the hands of the police. The reaction? Some statuses from home," he wrote.
"The videos speak for themselves," says Alban Zejnullahu, Agon Zejnullahu's brother, who told T7 on Monday how he was informed about the case.
"Someone from the police station called us, they told us to go to the emergency room," he said. "When we got there, all we saw was a white sheet on my brother and he was lifeless. There were marks on his face, his body, as if it had been a massive beating."
"We were surprised. Someone was giving us information here and there, not a heart attack, someone was saying it was from excessive alcohol... We didn't know where to turn," he said.
After returning home, Alban Zejnullahu said they had received several videos from citizens.
"It is clear that he was killed by the hand of the state, by some police officers," he emphasizes.
Several media outlets published disturbing footage, which, although uncontextualized, showed the young man being pulled out of a car and lying on the asphalt, with at least three police officers on top of him trying to tie his hands. They are also seen using their knees to subdue the young man.
In another sequence, the 27-year-old is seen on his knees, unresponsive, with police officers standing around him and an ambulance arriving.
"We have a video that shows him screaming in his last breath and being hit in the face, and then he doesn't move," says his brother, Alban Zejnullahu.
He says that the doctor in charge said that "they invited him for a fight between citizens."
"There were no other citizens there... They found him dead. The police's statement that he died in the emergency room is not true at all," says Alban Zejnullahu.
According to the Police, at around 00:15 on Monday, they received information that a person “was under the influence of alcohol, attacking vehicles and passersby” in Lipjan. “Police units reacted immediately to bring the situation under control, while the emergency medical team was also called to the scene, which provided first aid to the person in question. Despite efforts, it was determined that he had passed away,” the Police say.
"I hope the state does not hide this case," says Alban Fejzullahu.
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