Minister Vujic comments on detention of Popovic from Office for Kosovo and Metohija: Politically motivated act

Photo: Ministry of Justice

Serbian Justice Minister Nenad Vujic expressed the strongest protest regarding the decision of the provisional institutions in Pristina to detain the assistant director of the Office for Kosovo and Metohija, Igor Popovic, pointing out that this is a politically motivated act that represents a gross violation of basic human rights and freedoms.

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"With this act, the provisional institutions in Pristina are sending a clear message - any attempt by the Serbs to speak about their own suffering will be punished by arrest and political oppression," Vujic said, adding that this not only ignores the obligations from UN Security Council Resolution 1244, but also continues the dangerous practice of persecution on ethnic and political grounds.

The Ministry of Justice added in its statement that Vujic recalled that Popovic was arrested because of his publicly expressed position, during a commemorative gathering on the occasion of the anniversary of the murders and kidnappings of Serbs in Orahovac, when he - using the right to freedom of opinion and expression, spoke the truth about war crimes against the Serb people.

"Popovic was arrested only because he clearly and unequivocally said that the crimes in Orahovac and other places were committed by members of the so-called Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA), which is a fact, not an insult," Vujic said.

The minister added that this is precisely why a war crimes court (Kosovo Specialist Chambers) for KLA war crimes was established with headquarters in The Hague, while on the other hand, in Kurti's regime people face handcuffs, detention and the threat of a rigged trial for speaking the truth.

According to Vujic, the arrest and detention of the assistant director of the Office for Kosovo and Metohija just because he named the criminals shows that Pristina has no desire to respect basic human rights, does not recognize the KLA crimes court, but is solely driven by the idea of violating all human rights and implementing oppression against Serbs.

He added that this decision by Pristina represents an attempt to criminalize memory and ban the truth, which further undermines the already fragile security and political rights of the Serb people in the Autonomous Province of Kosovo and Metohija.

Vujic pointed out that the fact the detention was ordered because of a verbal offense is of particular concern, which violates not only international and human rights, but also the basic achievements of modern civilization.

In addition, Vujic called on the international missions in the Autonomous Province of Kosovo and Metohija, primarily EULEX, KFOR and representatives of the European Union, to react urgently and ensure an immediate end to the persecution of Igor Popovic, and his immediate release.

Reminding that these missions are under obligation to protect basic human rights and that with their actions they have an obligation to sanction the behavior of Pristina, Vujic mentioned that Serbia will not remain silent in the face of Pristina's violence against its citizens and that it will continue to protect its Serb people in the Autonomous Province of Kosovo and Metohija using all legal means.

On Sunday, the Basic Court of the provisional institution in Pristina ordered the detention of Igor Popovic, who was arrested on Friday at the Brnjak administrative crossing.

The Office for Kosovo and Metohija announced earlier that on the order of Albin Kurti, Assistant Director of the Office Igor Popovic, who is in charge of legal issues, was detained in the Autonomous Province of Kosovo and Metohija.

He previously attended a commemoration on the anniversary of the murders and kidnappings of Serbs of the Orahovac region perpetrated by the criminal KLA.

Popovic was detained for making a statement after the memorial service - simply because he called those who killed 47 innocent Serbs and Romani and kidnapped more than a hundred during July 1998 by their right name.

(Telegraf.rs/Tanjug)