In the political history of Kosovo during the Yugoslav period, the fifties of the last century (XX) constitute one of the most sensitive phases of relations between the state power and the Albanian society. In this period, the Yugoslav regime aimed to consolidate political control over Kosovo through a combination of administrative, police and judicial mechanisms. In this context, the Prizren Trial of 1956 should be understood, one of the most characteristic political trials of the time, which aimed to punish a group of Albanian intellectuals and activists accused of “agitation and propaganda”. (Some of the information was taken from the book Dosja P by Agim Zogajt, as well as from popular memory and the testimonies of the protagonists themselves, whom the author has known personally.)

This process was not an ordinary criminal trial. It was part of a wider political strategy to curb any expression of Albanian national consciousness and to neutralize influential individuals in society. Justice was used as a political instrument to create a climate of fear and to discipline the Albanian community.

The arrests were made during 1956 and were followed by a judicial process that took place in Prizren. On July 19, 1956, the jury announced the final verdict (K.nr. 74/56), by which all the accused were found guilty and sentenced to heavy prison terms, accompanied by restrictions on civil rights. Among the convicts were some activists from the region of Has, who represented a conscious and active layer of Albanian society.

In the justification of the indictment, as Agim Zogaj writes in his book “Dosja P” (Prishtina, 1998), “among other things, this group is accused of espionage and an act against the state of the people, like all other Albanian ‘nationalists and irredentists’ before and many years later… The accused, Sedat Dida, Demush Cahani, Shani Hoxha, Ibrahim Moni, Rexhep Muhadri, Hasan Bajrami, Muhamet Emini and Sali Mehmeti, have indeed committed the criminal offense of espionage under Article 105 of the Criminal Law. The accused, from hostile motives towards the RSFJ and in order to create the conditions for the secession of Kosovo and Metohija from the RSFJ with the People’s Republic of Albania, have been connected with the Albanian information service, through the saboteur-espionage gang in 1950, which gang has crossed from Albania to Yugoslavia with certain tasks of the Albanian information service for committing hostile acts against the RSFJ.” Kushnini i Has, represent a part of this history of moral and civic resistance. Although they were not part of a structured political organization, they were punished because of their beliefs and attitudes, which were interpreted by the authorities as a political threat. Through their suffering, these individuals became symbols of resilience, proving that dignity and moral integrity could not be easily broken, even in the face of the pressure of power and systemic injustice.

continues tomorrow – part 2:  DEMUSH CAHANI (1893-?) – FIGURE OF CIVIL ATTITUDE

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Source: prizrenpost