The young man N.V., who was arrested yesterday on suspicion of attacking the Kallxo journalist team on May 29th in Leposavic, is innocent. He did not participate in any of the acts attributed to him by the Kosovo authorities, and we have evidence to prove it, said his lawyer Predrag Miljkovic in an interview with KoSSev.
Late last night, our editorial staff was contacted by readers who identified themselves as witnesses and friends of the arrested individual.
They provided us with a photograph from a protest gathering, which is almost) the same frame previously published by the Kosovo Minister of Internal Affairs as alleged evidence. The picture featured a hooded young man in the foreground, who he claims to be the now-arrested N.V., along with another photograph of the arrested young man with his face uncovered.
In the picture we received from readers, whose authenticity has now been confirmed by lawyer Miljković, N.V. is standing with his face uncovered several rows behind the masked young man.
Miljković confirmed that the two photographs published by Svecla are not of the same young man and that N.V. is not the attacker.
„So, he is not the guy with the hood, that is the absolute truth, and it’s visible. N.V. is standing in the 7th or 8th row behind him. He isn’t the one who attacked the journalists, and our evidence shows that he in no way could have perpetrated the attack,“ Miljkovic told us.
Miljkovic emphasized that he does not speculate on who the masked young man is, or whether he is responsible for the attack on the Kallxo journalist team.
„Both my client and I, as his lawyer, condemn any attack on journalists and any attack on the police,“ he said to KoSSev.
He stressed that he would submit the evidence to the court, including this photograph, to secure the young man’s release as soon as possible, although he is not „overly optimistic“ due to the overall situation.
N.V. is currently held in a detention center in North Mitrovica. He was arrested yesterday at 5:30 PM near the location of Klik, between Leposavic and Socanica.
The decision whether to extend his detention or release him will be known by Sunday at 5:30 PM.
He is charged with three offenses: destruction or damage to property, incitement of racial hatred and intolerance, and participation in hooliganism.
The arrest of the young man from Leposavić was announced yesterday by the first Kosovo Minister of Internal Affairs, as he regularly does for months, publishing personal details of the arrested individual without specifying the suspicions or charges for criminal offenses.
the Association of Journalists of Kosovo (AGK) earlier reported an attack on the Kallxo team, that is, on their official car, which took place on 29th of May in Leposavic.
The car was defaced with the symbol of four S.
About 30 attacks on journalists and media crews were recorded in the last two weeks in the North. These incidents received strong condemnation from all domestic, regional, and world media associations, including from international officials.
Preuzimanje i objavljivanje tekstova sa portala KoSSev nije dozvoljeno bez navođenja izvora. Hvala na poštovanju etike novinarske profesije.
