Albin Kurti
| Albin Kurti | |
|---|---|
| Leader of Self-Determination | |
|
In office 12 June 2005 – 28 February 2015 |
|
| Preceded by | New office |
| Succeeded by | Visar Ymeri |
| Personal details | |
| Born |
24 March 1975 Pristina, Kosovo |
| Nationality | Kosovar, Albanian |
| Political party | Vetëvendosje! |
| Spouse(s) | Rita Augestad Knudsen |
| Alma mater | University of Pristina |
| Military service | |
| Political representative | KLA |
Albin Kurti (born 24 March 1975 in Prishtina, Kosovo ) is the leading activist and former leader of Vetëvendosje!, and Member of the Assembly of Kosovo. He came to prominence in 1997 as the vice-president of the University of Pristina Student Union, and a main organiser of non-violent demonstrations in 1997 and 1998. When Adem Demaçi became the political representative of the Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA), Kurti worked in his office.
In April 1999, during the NATO's air strikes on Yugoslavia he was arrested and beaten by Yugoslav forces. Later that year he was charged with "jeopardizing Yugoslavia's territorial integrity and conspiring to commit an enemy activity linked to terrorism", which carried a maximum penalty of 20 years' imprisonment, and was sentenced to 15 years in prison. During the trial he refused to recognise the legitimacy of court
"This trial has nothing common with the truth and with the justice. This trial serves to the daily politics of Milošević, who occupied Kosovo". When convicted he said, "It is not important if you convict me or how long. Everything I have said and done I did voluntarily and with dignity, I'm proud for this and if I would have the chance I would do it again."
He was freed in December 2001 by Yugoslavia's post-Milošević government amid international pressure. Since his release, he has worked outside party politics in Kosovo but has been a severe critic of the United Nations Interim Administration Mission in Kosovo (UNMIK) and of corruption. He organised non-violent protests in support of the families of those whose relatives disappeared in the war, and in favour of Kosovo's self-determination. On 23 April 2003 he graduated with a degree in Computer and Telecommunications Sciences from the Universiteti i Prishtinës (University of Pristina). He was an activist for the Action for Kosovo Network (AKN), which was formed in 1997, and is a movement whose mission focusing on human rights and social justice; education; culture and art.
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