Several Kosovo Serb NGOs expressed concern and protest over the verdict of the Basic Court in Pristina, handed down to a student from Belgrade, N.N. who was arrested on June 28th on Gazimestan.
N.N, a young man from Belgrade, was sentenced yesterday in the first-instance proceedings to eight months in prison for allegedly „inciting ethnic hatred and intolerance“.
As the media report, N.N. is accused of crying out „Kill, kill Shiptar“ on the mentioned date, and carrying a Serbian flag, as per the witness’ statements.
On the other hand, his lawyer Jovana Filipovic claims that he did not say the words he is accused of saying and that only the police officers present on the spot claim to have heard N.N., who were then taken as witnesses in this case, and that the mentioned flag did not belong to him.
After the verdict was announced, Filipovic immediately announced an appeal. She reiterated that the evidence presented by the witnesses is not relevant.
The head of the Kosovo Office, Petar Petkovic, condemned the judgment yesterday, alleging that the statements were given by false witnesses and that N.N. was convicted without a shred of material evidence.
In the meantime, the Diocese of Raska-Prizren also reacted, expressing its „deepest disappointment and outrage“ regarding the judgment issued to N.N.
Tonight, several Kosovo Serb NGOs expressed concern and protest over the verdict of the Basic Court in Pristina.
„Namely, as organizations that, among other things, deal with the rule of law, we are concerned about the unequal application of law to members of different communities in Kosovo,” they said.
While highlighting they respect the independence of the judiciary, these NGOs state that criminalization of the expression of political views, by singing or by concrete actions, is rather alarming.
“In this regard, singing ‘Kosovo is Serbia’ or taking pictures with a flag showing Kosovo in Serbian colors and the message ‘No surrender’ cannot be a criminal offense in any way, but the expression of political views, which is a universal human right guaranteed by international conventions, as well as the constitution and laws of Kosovo.”
Otherwise, they added, anyone who highlights the symbols of the Republic of Albania, writes or sings about the unification of Kosovo and Albania should be prosecuted and convicted.
“We are witnesses that this is a frequent occurrence in Kosovo and that no one was held accountable for such actions, not even for acts that contain an open invitation for violence against non-majority communities, primarily the Serbian one.”
The different judicial practice, that is discrimination on the grounds of the ethnicity or citizenship of the suspect, is concerning – they add.
“In this sense, we witnessed that last year a Montenegro citizen was convicted to six months of prison for the same crime, which was replaced by a fine, while N.N. was sentenced to an effective prison penalty of eight months. It is also disturbing that during the testimony, at the request of the defense attorney, the judge did not allow the police officers, whose statements are the only evidence in the case, to quote in Serbian the words allegedly spoken by N.N.”
The NGOs noted that the trial of N.N. was postponed and that it took two and a half months to render a verdict, even though the indictment was filed within a few days.
“It speaks of the discrimination of a certain part of the judicial system in Kosovo when criminal proceedings are conducted against Serbian people.”
They expressed protest because of the “inappropriately high sentence” against the student, who was visiting Kosovo for the first time and has never committed any criminal offense or violation, as well as the fact that it was not taken as a mitigating circumstance.
“Regarding the unreasonably high sentence and taking into account the circumstances under which the disputed case happened, we want to recall that Hadji Hoti, a candidate for NISMA deputy, after announcing on Facebook in December 2019 that the current Prime Minister of Kosovo „Albin Kurti has two options, either to leave Kosovo or to be killed”, for the same crime was sentenced to six months of probation, even though this statement was accessible to a much wider audience.”
The NGOs recalled that in the past years, members of the Assembly of Kosovo have sent numerous messages that are “evident examples of inciting intolerance towards the Serbian community.”
“For example; ‘If they want an ethnic Kosovo without Serbs, then they should be kidding themselves,’ Daut Haradinaj said in a TV show in 2017, in which he commented on the possibility of handing over his brother, Ramush Haradinaj, to the authorities in Serbia.”
Despite the call of the UN to investigate threats of ethnic cleansing, these, as well as numerous other problematic statements and actions of public figures, have not yet received a judicial epilogue, they highlighted.
Furthermore, they called on the relevant institutions in Kosovo, as well as international organizations and missions, to do everything in their power so that the law in Kosovo is applied equally to everyone.
“We expect all of the above-mentioned to conduct impartial monitoring in this and similar cases, in order to ensure the rule of law in Kosovo.”
Signatories:
· NGO Advocacy Center for Democratic Culture (ACDC)
· NGO Center for Peace and Tolerance (CPT)
· NGO New Social Initiative (NSI)
· NGO Humanitarian Center Mitrovica
· NGO Communication for Social development (CSD)
· NGO Aktiv
· NGO Gracanica Online
· NGO Inter
· NGO FDCM
· Association of Business Women “Avenija”
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