Longtime journalist of Jedinstvo newspaper, Sonja Ivkovic was shortly detained in Gnjilane/Gjilan yesterday. The police and Ivkovic, however, have made conflicting statements about the reasons behind the detainment. While Kosovo police maintained that she was detained for driving under the influence of alcohol and misbehavior, Ivkovic denied this, claiming that her detainment has a political background in addition to which she was subjected to brutal behavior. Both sides, however, confirmed that the communication between the journalist and the police did not go smoothly when Ivkovic was pulled over and that she refused to take a breath alcohol test.
Hashani: It was obvious she was under the influence of alcohol
KPS spokesperson in the Gnjilane/Gjilan region, Ismet Hashani told KoSSev that Ivkovic was pulled over yesterday because police had information that „the driver was driving carelessly and strangely“.
He pointed out that „it was obvious she was under the influence of alcohol“.
Hashani further claimed that Ivkovic „completely refused to cooperate“ and that she spent the “entire time swearing and insulting” the police officers.
According to Hashani, Kosovo police were forced to seize the car to prevent her from continuing to drive it, as it was „clearly visible that she had no control“ and that this was the reason behind her detainment.
Hashani underlined that although Ivkovic gave a statement, she „did not want to take a breath alcohol test at all costs“, adding that she was cited for operating a vehicle under the influence of alcohol, after which she was released.
Ivkovic’s license was suspended for a period of six-month – he added.
Ivkovic: My arrest has a political background
„Jedinstvo“ newspaper journalist since 1995, Sonja Ivkovic told KoSSev that she was returning from Gracanica to Novo Brdo yesterday, where she lives, when she was pulled over on the main road near Labljan by the Kosovo Customs instead of traffic police.
According to Ivkovic, the trunk of the vehicle she was driving contained printed copies of the „Jedinstvo“ newspaper she distributes in Novo Brdo.
Political background?
Ivkovic shared her suspicions that she was pulled over due to her article „They are seizing the territory, revising history“ on the current events in Novo Brdo being on the front page of the Jedinstvo newspaper.
„The fact that KFOR came to Novo Brdo, to Prekovac, is also revealing. They made a hard copy of the article and asked people what they thought of it. There was nothing nationalistic in that text, it was just a report on what happened with the fortress and what the people’s reactions were. I made no comment,except for the title on the cover,” Ivkovic explained.
Ivkovic admitted that she verbally retaliated to the patrol which pulled her over, especially when they asked her to take a breath alcohol test, because she claimed she was not under the influence of alcohol.
„They claim that I was intoxicated. That was not the case at all. I was driving at a reasonable pace, not while under the influence. And in Labljan all of a sudden, flashing lights, the customs, I parked normally, and then they moved in… I reacted, I said a lot of things in the heat of the moment–what is it, what does this mean, not drunk, what gives you the right to pull me over,“ she said.
“After the altercation, a traffic patrol from Gnjilane/Gjilan also arrived” – Ivkovic stressed, adding that she was brought to the police station in handcuffs.
„It was a real drama, but they brought me in like I was a serious criminal. They handcuffed me, brought me to the police station and then they told me to take the breath alcohol test, which I refused, and they did not write down in the report that I refused the breath alcohol test because I thought it was politically motivated. I asked not to be detained, and then they agreed,“ Ivkovic said.
Jedinstvo, Association of Journalists of Serbia and the Kosovo Office condemned the incident
In the meantime, the Association of Journalists of Serbia and UNS in Kosovo also reacted, demanding, as they stated, „responsibility for the use of force in the apprehension of Sonja Ivkovic“.
The UNS and UNS in Kosovo demand that „internal police control and the EULEX administration examine all the circumstances surrounding Ivkovic’s arrest, as well as determine the responsibility of the customs officers who stopped and searched her car and then called the police.“
The head of the Kosovo Office, Marko Djuric and the „Jedinstvo“ newspaper also reacted.
Djuric stressed that he was „appalled by the way the Kosovo police treated the Serbian journalist“ and said that he „expects international organizations and professional associations to react in order to guarantee basic human and professional rights to Serbs in Kosovo and Metohija.“
„Jedinstvo“ called on all media associations and institutions „to condemn this unfortunate incident, which is directly aimed at threatening and intimidating Ivkovic and all Serbian journalists and media in Kosovo and Metohija who are telling the truth, and for the persons from the Kosovo police who arrested, detained and harassed the journalist Ivkovic to be held accountable,“ Gracanica online reported.
Sonja Ivkovic gave an interview for RTK2 last year where she spoke about the conditions in which she lives and works. See what Ivkovic had to say in the video below.
Preuzimanje i objavljivanje tekstova sa portala KoSSev nije dozvoljeno bez navođenja izvora. Hvala na poštovanju etike novinarske profesije.
