Triumf Riza (July 5 1979 – 30 August 2007) was a Kosovar police officer, and member of an elite protection unit with the fledgling Kosovo Police Service. He was killed in the line of duty during an ongoing clash with the Enver Sekiraqa gang, an Ethnic Albanian crime syndicate that operates in Kosovo. Riza is notable in that he was the young police force's first recognized hero.

Special Force career

Triumf Riza was one of the earlier officers hired onto the new Kosovo police force. Well known within Kosovo as a competition body builder, and in excellent physical condition, Riza quickly gained a position on the Kosovo Police Protection Unit, guarding VIP personnel and visitors to Kosovo. Corruption within the Kosovo Police Force became apparent even in its earliest stages, much due to the low salaries paid to the officers. Organized crime factions, when unable to bribe Kosovo officers, used intimidation as a means to gain an upper hand over any they deemed a threat to their business. Triumf Riza, however, refused bribes offered, resulting in two assassination attempts, both of which were thwarted when he engaged his attackers, the second time resulting in a gunfight. These incidents resulted in Riza becoming an especially respected "hero" within the young police force, which was much needed as a boost for morale due to the force having suffered several officers killed over its young existence, in addition to its ongoing battle with internal corruption, low salaries, and non-existent insurance for injured officers. Kosovo first began working towards its independence in the 1990s, this heightened when

NATO The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO ; , OTAN), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental organization, intergovernmental Transnationalism, transnational military alliance of 32 Member states of NATO, member s ...

took action against the forces of

Yugoslavia , common_name = Yugoslavia , life_span = 1918–19921941–1945: World War II in Yugoslavia#Axis invasion and dismemberment of Yugoslavia, Axis occupation , p1 = Kingdom of SerbiaSerbia , flag_p ...

, and the United Nations dispatched International Police with its UNMIK organization to stabilize the region. With the birth of the Kosovo Police Service, UNMIK Police were tasked with training and organizing the newly formed police force. One of the main concerns quickly became

organized crime Organized crime is a category of transnational organized crime, transnational, national, or local group of centralized enterprises run to engage in illegal activity, most commonly for profit. While organized crime is generally thought of as a f ...

, with both the Albanian and Bulgarian mafia immediately taking advantage of the weak economic situation in Kosovo, to set up prostitution and illegal drug rings. Enver Sekiraqa quickly climbed to the top of organized crime, and was arrested several times for illegal weapons and other charges, but never received a sentence exceeding six months in jail. This was believed due to corruption within the court system of Kosovo.

Death

The

feud A feud , also known in more extreme cases as a blood feud, vendetta, faida, clan war, gang war, private war, or mob war, is a long-running argument or fight, often between social groups of people, especially family, families or clans. Feuds begin ...

between Riza and Enver Sekiraqa escalated when Riza became involved romantically with locally well known singer Adelina Ismajli, previously involved with Sekiraqa. On August 30, 2007, Riza was

ambush An ambush is a surprise attack carried out by people lying in wait in a concealed position. The concealed position itself or the concealed person(s) may also be called an "". Ambushes as a basic military tactics, fighting tactic of soldi ...

ed on a crowded street in broad daylight and shot to death in

Pristina Pristina or Prishtina ( , ), . is the capital and largest city of Kosovo. It is the administrative center of the eponymous municipality and District of Pristina, district. In antiquity, the area of Pristina was part of the Dardanian Kingdo ...

. He was the third Kosovo Police Officer killed in 2007. The incident sparked outrage from the public, resulting in over 3,000 protestors marching in down town Pristina. Within days the Kosovo Police and UNMIK Police had arrested some thirty persons in connection with the conspiracy to murder Riza, quickly narrowing that number to eight, with one confessing to the shooting. That suspect has since been sentenced to Kosovo's maximum prison sentence. However, Enver Sekiraqa is believed to have organized the assassination, but fled Kosovo immediately following the murder. Former freedom fighter and now Kosovo Prime Minister Agim Ceku, Interior Minister Blerim Kuqi, and politician and former soldier Fatmir Limaj joined in the protest against organized crime.

References

External links

Triumf Riza – Condolence Book
* *
Kosovo's Choice Between Organized Crime or JusticeUNMIK Supports Anti-Crime DemonstrationUN Daily News
{{DEFAULTSORT:Riza, Triumf 1979 births 2007 deaths People from Kaçanik 21st-century police officers Kosovan murder victims People murdered in Kosovo People murdered by organized crime Kosovo Albanians 2007 crimes in Kosovo 2000s murders in Kosovo 2007 murders in Europe