Latest news with #Albanians
See - Sada Elbalad
4 days ago
- Politics
- See - Sada Elbalad
Revisiting Mohamed Ali Pasha's Origins
Rana Atef A few days ago, an Egyptian patriot and the grandson of Mohamed Ali Pasha and Ibrahim Pasha, Mehmet Mohammed Sarhan, shared a powerful thread, revisiting the origins of the man who laid the very foundations of modern Egypt. Kavala, a small coastal town, cradled the birth of the Ottoman general who would later become Egypt's most ambitious ruler. Mohamed Ali was born in Kavala in 1769 (1183 AH). But he always emphasized that his roots traced back to Konya. This wasn't a passing claim; it was recorded by his trusted aide Mohamed Aref Pasha in 'Ibar al-Bashar', quoting both the Pasha himself and his son Ibrahim. Dr. Mohamed Shafiq Ghorbal, one of Egypt's most respected historians, clarified the truth plainly in his book 'Mohamed Ali the Great', published by the Egyptian Historical Society in 1944: 'In the city of Kavala — a small maritime town — Mohamed Ali was born. The commonly accepted date is 1183 AH / 1769 AD. He was a Muslim Ottoman Turk — with no lineage connecting him to the Albanians, the Slavs of Macedonia, or the Greeks.' Despite serving in an Ottoman-European force where many officers were Albanian, Mohamed Ali wasn't one of them. He climbed the military ranks, but he wasn't of them, nor shaped by them. As Ghorbal explained, Albanians had their own tribal leaders and chiefs. Mohamed Ali had no political loyalty in those circles. He was Ottoman in blood, and language. The book was published under the leadership of Dr. Mohamed Taher Pasha, a man of noble heritage, grandson of Grand Vizier Ahmed Arifi Pasha, cousin of King Farouk, and the first Egyptian to earn a doctorate in political sociology from the Sorbonne. Kavala, known in Turkish by the same name, is part of the Drama region, which today lies within the borders of modern Greece. When the population exchange between Greece and Turkey took place in the early 20th century, Muslim families from Kavala moved east. And if Mohamed Ali Pasha had been alive during that time, given his deep devotion to Islam and loyalty to his Ottoman identity, it's likely he would have returned to Konya, the ancestral home of his forebears. The Turkishness of Mohamed Ali is not just a historical footnote. It's how Europe saw him too. In 1834, Count Charles Joseph Edmond Sain de Boislecomte described him in his official report: 'He is keen to preserve the Ottoman character of his government, and he speaks only Turkish.' This report was later published by the Royal Geographical Society of Egypt in 1927, and cited in the remarkable book 'The Building of the Egyptian State: Mohamed Ali.' Mohamed Ali was a reformer, a military genius, a controversial figure, and the architect of Egypt's modern state. In addition, he was an Ottoman Turk. read more 2 Most Inspirational Green Projects in Egypt AEW Dynamite, WWE NXT to Strive over Viewership Tonight Egypt Marks 70th Anniv. of 2011 Revolution, National Police Day In Depth: WWE NXT Halloween Havoc In Depth: AEW Dynamite, WWE NXT Tuesday Viewership Strive Videos & Features WATCH: Egyptians Break Ramadan Fasts in Matariya Videos & Features GrEEk Campus Hosts Jobzella Fifth Career Fair Videos & Features 3 Iconic Ramadan Songs of All Times Videos & Features Top 4 Destinations to Visit in Upper Egypt News Israeli-Linked Hadassah Clinic in Moscow Treats Wounded Iranian IRGC Fighters News China Launches Largest Ever Aircraft Carrier Sports Former Al Zamalek Player Ibrahim Shika Passes away after Long Battle with Cancer Videos & Features Tragedy Overshadows MC Alger Championship Celebration: One Fan Dead, 11 Injured After Stadium Fall Lifestyle Get to Know 2025 Eid Al Adha Prayer Times in Egypt Arts & Culture South Korean Actress Kang Seo-ha Dies at 31 after Cancer Battle News "Tensions Escalate: Iran Probes Allegations of Indian Tech Collaboration with Israeli Intelligence" News Flights suspended at Port Sudan Airport after Drone Attacks Sports Get to Know 2025 WWE Evolution Results Arts & Culture Hawass Foundation Launches 1st Course to Teach Ancient Egyptian Language
Yahoo
5 days ago
- Yahoo
Greek police arrest five people in murder case of UC Berkeley professor, including his ex-wife
Greek police have arrested five people in the case of murdered UC Berkeley professor Przemyslaw Jeziorski, including his ex-wife and her current partner. Jeziorski was shot dead on July 4 while visiting Athens to see his children and attend a family custody hearing. According to Greek national broadcaster ERT, the five people are expected to testify in front of a prosecutor on Thursday morning. ERT reported that the arrests include two Greek nationals – the 43-year-old ex-wife of the victim and her 35-year-old current partner – along with two Albanians and one Bulgarian. The victim's ex-wife, Konstantina 'Nadia' Michelidaki, denies any involvement, her lawyer told CNN. Jeziorski, 43, an economist and professor of marketing at UC Berkeley's Haas School of Business who went by the nickname Przemek or 'PJ,' was shot multiple times at close range in a residential suburb of Athens and died at the scene, according to police. A masked gunman 'approached the victim on foot and opened fire from close range' at about 4:15 p.m., hitting the victim in the neck and chest, according to police spokesperson Konstantina Dimoglidou. Seven bullet casings from a 9mm caliber firearm were found at the scene, police said. Eyewitnesses described seeing a masked man in black who approached the victim on foot, with one telling local media that she heard about six shots and saw the perpetrator run from the scene. The shooting happened near the home of Jeziorski's ex-wife in the suburb of Agia Paraskevi, one day after the father-of-two attended a custody court hearing, police said. Police said Jeziorski had no criminal record in Greece. 'Our family is heartbroken' Jeziorski's two young children are now in Greek child custody, according to the victim's brother. 'Przemek's ten-year-old children, who are US and Polish citizens, are now under care in accordance with Greek child custody procedures,' Łukasz Jeziorski said in a statement. 'Our primary concern is their safety and wellbeing, and helping them reconnect with their family to minimize the trauma they have already endured.' 'Przemek loved his children and fought for them until the end. He paid the heaviest price, unnecessarily, for this,' the family statement said. 'This summer, he wanted to bring his children to his hometown of Gdynia, Poland. This death and the circumstances surrounding it remain impossible for us to accept, but we find some measure of comfort knowing that progress is being made toward justice, and that the kids are about to reunite with their family into a safe environment.' The victim's brother said, 'Our family is heartbroken,' but grateful to Greek police and security professionals who made the arrests. 'We are also thankful for the help of the US Consulate in Athens, and the Polish Consulate in Athens, helping care for the well being of the kids,' the statement added. In addition to American and Polish citizenship, the children had applied for Greek citizenship and were awaiting a decision, according to Michelidaki's lawyer. Jeziorski's family started a fundraiser to repatriate his remains to his native Poland and pay for legal representation in Greece. UC Berkeley said in a statement that Jeziorski 'had a passion for teaching' and during his 13 years there, he taught data analytics skills to more than 1,500 graduate and PhD students. The dean of UC Berkeley's business school, Jenny Chatman, said she was 'heartbroken' by the death of Jeziorski, who she described as a 'beloved member of our marketing faculty.' Jeziorski was also the co-founder of a start-up called Keybee, a short-term rental property management platform, along with his ex-wife Michelidaki. This story has been updated with additional developments.
San Francisco Chronicle
6 days ago
- San Francisco Chronicle
Ex-wife of UC Berkeley professor shot in Greece arrested on suspicion of plotting his killing
The ex-wife of a beloved UC Berkeley professor has been charged with arranging to have him killed in an Athenian suburb earlier this month, according to Greek media reports. Przemysław Jeziorski, 43, was gunned down on July 4 in Agia Paraskevi, a suburb of Athens, as he was walking to the home of his ex wife, Nadia Michelidaki, to see his two children. According to a story in To Vima, a Greek newspaper, authorities arrested Michelidaki and accused her of convincing her current partner to kill Jeziorski. Police also arrested her companion – who has not been identified – and three other men as accomplices. The three men, two Albanians and a Bulgarian man, were accused of transporting the shooter to the crime scene and giving him the firearm used in the crime.
DW
15-07-2025
- Politics
- DW
Hague court upholds Kosovo war crimes conviction for Shala – DW – 07/14/2025
Pjeter Shala was found guilty in 2024 of torture, murder and arbitrary detention at a makeshift prison during the 1998-99 Kosovo uprising against Serbia. Appeals judges have now reduced his sentence from 18 to 13 years. Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA) member Pjeter Shala saw his conviction upheld but the sentence reduced from 18 to 13 years, the Kosovo Specialist Chambers tribunal in The Hague said on Monday. The tribunal, staffed by international judges and lawyers, was set up in 2015 to handle cases under Kosovo law against fighters of the KLA. The court said Shala's original sentencing was "out of reasonable proportion to comparable cases." Shala was convicted in 2024 of war crimes during the during the 1998-99 Kosovo uprising against Serbian troops. He was found guilty of torture, murder and arbitrary detention, which he committed as he ran a makeshift prison where people considered to be spies or collaborators with Serbs were housed. The original Hague tribunal conviction was appealed, with judges reversing several convictions for torture and arbitrary detention in relation to some victims, but confirming convictions for the same war crimes involving other victims. Judges also determined that the previous conviction had not taken into account that Shala was not in a commanding role for the murder charge. In the end, judges reduced his sentence from 18 to 13 years. "The reduction in his sentence in no way suggests that the crimes for which he has been convicted and sentenced are not grave," judge Kai Ambos told the court. Shala followed the hearing by video link, dressed in a light blue shirt and tie. As the decision was read out, he shook his head and appeared to be speaking but his words were not broadcast. Victims under Shala were beaten with batons and baseball bats, forced to hit each other, burned with cigarettes, coerced to simulate sexual acts with each other, and in some cases shot. Judges at the earlier trial said the torture perpetrated by Shala was "of particular cruelty" and the victims were "particularly vulnerable and defenseless." The victims were largely ethnic Albanians accused by the KLA of collaboration with Serbian forces. More than 13,000 people are believed to have died during the 1998-99 Kosovo uprising against Serbian troops, led by then-president Slobodan Milosevic.
14-07-2025
- Politics
Kosovo fighter's sentence cut despite court upholding convictions for murder, torture
A European Union-backed court has upheld convictions against former Kosovo Liberation Army fighter Pjetër Shala for murder, torture and arbitrary detention THE HAGUE, Netherlands -- Appeals judges at a European Union-backed court upheld murder, torture and arbitrary detention convictions against a former Kosovo war liberation fighter Monday. But they cut his prison term from 18 years to 13 years, saying judges imposed too harsh a sentence at his trial. Pjetër Shala was convicted a year ago for his role in the abuse of detainees being held by the Kosovo Liberation Army, or KLA, at a makeshift jail in a metal factory in Kukёs, northern Albania, during Kosovo's 1999 war for independence from Serbia. The 62-year-old Shala watched Monday's hearing at the Kosovo Specialist Chambers by videoconference, and shook his head after Judge Kai Ambos of Germany rejected large parts of his appeal and handed down the new sentence. The appeals panel, however, ruled that trial judges wrongly found him guilty of five cases of torture and two of arbitrary detention, saying there was insufficient evidence. But they upheld his convictions on the same counts for other detainees and for his role in the murder of one detainee, who was shot and then denied medical treatment. In reducing his sentence, the three-judge appeals panel ruled that trial judges didn't give sufficient weight to the fact that Shala didn't hold a command role when the man was murdered. The appeals judges also said that the original 18-year sentence was 'out of reasonable proportion to comparable cases,' the court said in a statement. Kosovo's 1998-1999 fight to break away from Serbia was led by the KLA, whose main leaders, including former President Hashim Thaci, are now being tried in The Hague. More than 13,000 people, mostly ethnic Albanians, died during the war, before a NATO bombing campaign forced Serbia to pull its troops out of the country and to cede control to the United Nations and NATO. Kosovo declared its independence from Serbia in 2008, which was recognized by the United States and most of the West, but not by Serbia or its allies Russia and China.
