Pristina – Kosovo Police actions over Saturday and Sunday in Gjakova/Đakovica and Prizren resulted in the detention of 16 individuals, all reportedly from Serbia. While 10 have been released, the arrests and subsequent accusations have sparked strong reactions from both Pristina and Belgrade.
According to Kosovo authorities, four of those detained are active officers of Serbian security services. Kosovo’s Minister of Interior, Xelal Sveçla, stated that these individuals were allegedly „collecting information about possible targets“ and that „evidence of connections with Serbian security services, as well as with the group responsible for Banjska, was found.“
While writing about their detention, Sveçla further claimed that the individuals were staying at the Orthodox Seminary, but this was later refuted by the Eparchy (which denied that the arrests took place at the Seminary).
„In actions by the Kosovo Police carried out on Saturday and Sunday in Prizren and Đakovica, 16 people in a total of four vehicles with Kragujevac license plates were detained,“ Sveçla said in a statement.
The Kosovo government issued a statement accusing Serbia of „destabilizing plans and criminal interventions,“ alleging that one of those arrested was a lieutenant in the Serbian police, and another a captain in the Serbian Army.
„When we add to this the arrest last night of four Serbian ‘pilgrims’ in Gjakova – one of whom was a lieutenant in the Serbian police and the other a captain in the Serbian army, and everything that was taken from them – it requires all institutions and mechanisms of the state to maintain high attention and readiness,“ the Kosovo government stated, referencing the discovery of two knives and an axe in the vehicle of those arrested in Gjakova/Đakovica.
The Kosovo government also accused Belgrade of attempting to „export the crisis to Kosovo“ and of pressuring Serbs to attend a rally in Belgrade organized by President Vučić.
„Vučić’s regime aims to export the crisis to Kosovo and beyond, because he himself is in the biggest crisis ever,“ the Kosovo government claimed. They further alleged that Serbia is obstructing non-Serb MPs from establishing new institutions.
Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić confirmed the arrests, stating last evening, „Just today, 16 people from central Serbia were arrested in Kosovo and Metohija, who went to visit our Seminary and monasteries in the Prizren area.“
Vučić dismissed claims that the individuals posed a security threat, stating, „Imagine, some of these people are members of the security structures. And then they found a knife and some broken axe that serves for God knows what. It is quite clear that it serves for nothing else but for some private needs.“
He described the arrests as a continuation of „terror“ against Serbs, warning Serbs not to travel to Kosovo, stating, „they are not going to a territory that is under the effective control of normal people, but those who are just looking for a reason to mistreat, harass, arrest and kill them.“
The Eparchy of Raška and Prizren confirmed that while the individuals had stayed overnight in the Seminary’s guest quarters, no one was arrested at the seminary itself. They emphasized that the Church regularly receives guests and pilgrims, and it is not possible to have detailed knowledge of every individual.
„Our monasteries, pilgrimage centers, as well as the Seminary itself, receive guests every day – pilgrims who come to Kosovo and Metohija to participate in religious services and church ceremonies. It is natural that our Church cannot have insight into all these people because all those who come from outside the territory of Kosovo legally cross the administrative crossings with the control of the Kosovo police and according to the existing laws have the right to move in this area and participate in religious ceremonies,“ the Eparchy stated.
The Eparchy also refuted Minister Sveçla’s insinuations.
„Any insinuation that the mentioned persons, having spent the night in the guest part of the Seminary, allegedly used ‘a religious institution for camouflage and to cause inter-ethnic and religious tensions in Kosovo,’ as stated in today’s statement by the Kosovo Police, is completely irresponsible and is not based on concrete facts,“ they stated.
Kosovo President Vjosa Osmani discussed the arrests with a representative of the U.S. Embassy in Pristina today, stating that investigations had revealed connections between those arrested and groups in Banjska.
„This action is part of Serbia’s continued efforts to destabilize Kosovo through threats and violence. This represents unacceptable interference in the state sovereignty of the Republic of Kosovo,“ Osmani said. She added that Kosovo would not tolerate actions that endanger peace and security.
„President Osmani spoke with Ms. Pratipati about yesterday’s arrest of Serbian citizens in Gjakova/Đakovica and Prizren, who claimed to be on a pilgrimage. However, the investigations so far have shown that these groups had connections with the structures of the Serbian military intelligence service, as well as with members of the Banjska terrorist group,“ Osmani stated.
The Serbian government’s Office for Kosovo and Metohija has condemned the arrests as „legal violence“ and a violation of religious freedoms, stating that those arrested were visiting holy sites and monasteries of the Serbian Orthodox Church.
The Office also stated that six of the 16 initially detained remain in custody.
„Yesterday, Pristina launched a wave of detentions of pilgrims from central Serbia, with the aim of continuing to destabilize the situation in Kosovo and Metohija and put pressure on the Serbian people in the province,“ the Office stated.
They specified that P. K., M. S., B. R. and N. V were detained in Gjakova/Đakovica, while L. S. and S. R. were detained in Prizren, with the remainder released.
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