by Kastriot Dervishi. Translation Petrit Latifi

Abstract

Fazli Deli Zenuni (b. 6 September 1941, Çabër, near Mitrovica) endured nearly two decades of harsh imprisonment under both Yugoslav and Albanian communist regimes. After seeking refuge in Albania in 1966, he was repeatedly convicted and subjected to isolation, forced labor, and ideological indoctrination, serving sentences in Shijak, Rubik, Kukës, Çermë, Ballsh, and Zejmen until his release in 1990. Marking the years of his suffering on his arm, Zenuni’s experience reflects the systematic repression faced by Kosovars under internationalist communist policies. His story is part of a broader study documenting the experiences of approximately 1,000 individuals subjected to prolonged deprivation of liberty during Albania’s communist period.

The Communist Serbo-Yugoslav torture of the Albanian Fazli Deli Zenuni of Mitrovica (b 1941)

With the years of suffering four sentences engraved on his hand
Fazli Deli Zenuni, born on 6.9.1941 in Çabër, near Mitrovica, after being convicted by the Yugoslav regime, sought refuge in Albania, but like all Kosovars who came, he was mistreated and convicted 4 times by the communist regime. He suffered almost 20 years of cruel deprivation of freedom. He came to Albania at the age of 25 in 1966 and left at the age of 50 in 1991.

After being kept isolated in Shijak, he was taken to live in Rubik. After being introduced to the internationalist communist ideology, he tried to escape, but a driver delivered him to Kukës in 1967. After his release, he was placed in the Kosovar concentration camp in Çermë, Lushnje. He was convicted in Lushnje in 1972 and re-convicted for agitation and propaganda in 1975 when he was serving his sentence in Ballsh and in 1984 in Zejmen.

He was released on 16.10.1990. After his release, he returned to his hometown, devastated and tired. On his arm he wrote the years of suffering from the communist regime in Albania, as photographs of the bitter fate that found him. His youth was wasted. But this was the official policy of the internationalist communist state. On his arm he marked the bad years of his black fate. If he had known the evil, he would not have suffered it.

Note: The above is part of my study of about 1000 people who suffered many years of deprivation of liberty during the communist regime. Anyone who has additional information on whether the person in question is alive or not, or photos of him, is asked to forward them.