A criminal complaint has been filed against Faruk Mujka, the chief executive officer of the public water management company Ibar-Lepenac, over the company’s recent actions targeting a lakeside tourism complex on the shores of Lake Gazivode (Ujman) in northern Kosovo.
At the same time, the owners’ legal representatives have launched civil proceedings before the Basic Court in Mitrovica, seeking an interim injunction that would prevent any demolition or alteration of the property until the ownership dispute is resolved.
The complaint was confirmed to KoSSev by attorney Predrag Arsić, who represents the Jakšić family. He argues that Ibar-Lepenac officials acted without any legal document authorizing them to demand that the family vacate the property.
According to Arsić, the criminal complaint alleges three criminal offences under Kosovo law: threats, harassment and unlawful self-help.
The legal action stems from events on July 14, when representatives of Ibar-Lepenac, accompanied by Kosovo Police officers, delivered a written notice ordering Vladan Stanić, who manages the Jakšić family’s hospitality complex, to leave the premises within fifteen days.
The disputed property includes the well-known „Jezero“ Hotel and an adjacent recreational area on the shore of Lake Gazivode, a strategically important reservoir in northern Kosovo that has recently become the focus of a wider campaign by Kosovo authorities against structures they describe as illegally built on public land.
Allegations of threats
Arsić argues that the company’s representatives exceeded their legal authority.
„The people who came on the director’s orders told the users of the complex that if they failed to leave within fifteen days, the authorities would enforce the decision by force with police assistance. In our view, those actions amount to criminal offences of threats, harassment and unlawful self-help,“ Arsić told KoSSev.
He says the purpose of the criminal complaint is to prevent what the family considers an unlawful attempt to seize privately owned property.
„No legal basis“
According to Arsić, Ibar-Lepenac officials failed to present any legally enforceable document supporting their actions.
He says they produced neither an administrative decision, an expropriation order nor a court ruling confirming that the company had the legal right to demand the family’s eviction.
„They brought a document which, in our opinion, has no legal basis. There was no administrative decision, no enforceable ruling and no expropriation decision. That is precisely why we believe elements of criminal offences exist,“ he said.
The lawyer further claims that no evidence has been presented showing that ownership of the disputed land had been lawfully transferred to Ibar-Lepenac.
Civil lawsuit seeks to halt demolitions
Alongside the criminal complaint, the family’s legal team has filed a possessory lawsuit, requesting that the court preserve the current situation until the ownership dispute is resolved.
According to Arsić, the lawsuit does not seek an immediate ruling on ownership itself. Instead, it asks the court to prevent any further interference with the property while legal proceedings continue.
The legal team has also requested a temporary injunction that would prohibit demolition of any structures on the site until the court reaches a final decision.
The 2018 cadastral change at the center of the dispute
According to Arsić, one of the central issues in the upcoming court proceedings will be changes made to Kosovo’s cadastral records in 2018.
He says the Jakšić family had previously been registered as the owner of the disputed parcels before the records were amended to list Ibar-Lepenac as the holder of property rights.
„The legality of that registration will be one of the key issues before the court. We believe there was no legal basis for such a change, and we intend to prove that during the proceedings,“ Arsić said.
The lawyer argues that if Ibar-Lepenac believes it is the lawful owner of the land, that claim should be tested through ordinary civil proceedings rather than through eviction notices and threats of demolition.
July 14 eviction notice
The legal action follows events that unfolded on July 14, when representatives of Ibar-Lepenac arrived at the lakeside complex accompanied by Kosovo Police officers.
According to KoSSev’s reporting at the time, the officials did not enter the property itself. Instead, they asked Vladan Stanić to come outside with his identification documents in order to receive a written notice.
The document, signed by Ibar-Lepenac CEO Faruk Mujka, stated that the public company is the registered holder of rights over two cadastral parcels in the municipality of Zubin Potok.
It ordered the occupants to vacate what it described as „usurped property“ within fifteen days, remove all structures and belongings erected without authorization, and restore the land to its previous condition.
The notice also warned that failure to comply would result in further legal and administrative action, while noting that Kosovo Police and the Municipality of Zubin Potok had been informed of the case.
Family disputes Ibar-Lepenac’s ownership claims
From the moment the notice was delivered, the Jakšić family rejected Ibar-Lepenac’s assertion that the land belongs to the public company.
Stanić previously told KoSSev that the family considers the hotel complex and adjacent beach to be its own property rather than land used under a lease or temporary arrangement.
His father-in-law, physician Aleksandar Jakšić, has likewise disputed the legality of the cadastral changes that transferred the property rights to Ibar-Lepenac.
Arsić now says the family does not dispute that Ibar-Lepenac is currently registered in the cadastre, but argues that the registration itself is unlawful and should be examined by the court.
Part of a broader campaign around Lake Gazivode
The dispute over the Jakšić family’s tourism complex is part of a broader campaign carried out by Ibar-Lepenac around Lake Gazivode (Ujman) over recent months.
The public company says it is reclaiming land registered as public property and removing structures built without permits.
Earlier this summer, multiple holiday homes near the reservoir were demolished. Owners of another eleven cottages later received similar notices ordering them to leave within fifteen days before those structures were also demolished.
The owners have consistently disputed the legality of those actions, arguing that they built the properties under 99-year lease agreements concluded with the Serbian state forestry company Srbijašume and that no demolition should take place without a final court decision determining ownership.
International concern
The demolitions have prompted criticism from both local organizations and international actors.
The European Union called for an immediate halt to further demolitions, warning that the actions raise serious concerns regarding legal procedures, due process and the rule of law.
The embassies of Germany and the United Kingdom likewise stressed the importance of respecting the rule of law, while five civil society organizations from northern Kosovo urged the World Bank to reconsider future support for Ibar-Lepenac, arguing that the company’s actions demonstrate a pattern of acting without court decisions or effective legal remedies.
Despite the criticism, Mujka told Kosovo’s public broadcaster RTK that the campaign would continue, stating that more than 80 allegedly illegal structures have been identified along the shores of Lake Gazivode.
The following day, Kosovo’s Ministry of Environment announced that similar measures would be expanded to other reservoirs, including Batlava and Badovac, as part of what it described as a nationwide effort to protect water resources and remove illegal construction.
Separate indictment
During the interview with KoSSev, Arsić was also asked about a separate criminal case involving Mujka.
Kosovo’s Court of Appeals recently upheld an indictment charging Mujka and former cadastral director Hysen Muzliukaj with abuse of office in connection with a disputed property exchange involving the former Bankos company in South Mitrovica.
Mujka also faces allegations of failing to declare, or falsely declaring, assets after investigators reportedly found €60,050 during a search of his home.
Arsić, however, said he sees no direct connection between that case and the Gazivode dispute.
„This is not Mujka’s personal decision but part of a broader process that, in our view, originates in Pristina. The other criminal case has no direct connection with this dispute,“ he said.
KoSSev repeatedly contacted Ibar-Lepenac seeking comment on the allegations made by the Jakšić family’s legal team, the legal basis for its actions concerning the disputed properties, and claims surrounding the demolitions. No response had been received by the time this article was published.
Preuzimanje i objavljivanje tekstova sa portala KoSSev nije dozvoljeno bez navođenja izvora. Hvala na poštovanju etike novinarske profesije.
