In the northern part Kosovska Mitrovica on Friday (May 23) there was an incident involving several members Kosovo Police physically and verbally harassed a Serbian high school graduate, the Office for Kosovo and Metohija announced.
The incident happened in the center of Kosovska Mitrovica, when the high school graduates, accompanied by professors and accompanied by trumpeters, traditionally paraded through the city. Reactions from a nearby cafe followed, when one of the guests showed the symbol of the eagle and the great Albania, and the graduates responded by showing the middle finger, KoSSev reports.
The Kosovo policeman then ran to the graduates and pulled the young man out of the group, whom he later harassed in front of other citizens, but also a colleague who was trying to calm the situation - both his colleague and the agitated citizens of Serbian nationality.
Graduates: They provoked us
In the meantime, KoSSev spoke with the graduates, who said that they did not start the incident, that they peacefully paraded in the graduation walk, and that several guests from the nearby cafes run by Albanians sent provocations using nationalist and vulgar symbols.
"We were passing through the promenade, we were with the trumpeters, we had no contact with them. When we were returning, they provoked us from the bar in the garden. We mechanically responded to them. At their nationalist signs and showing the middle finger, we showed them the middle finger. The policeman took me aside. I had no contact with him before that. He just took me aside, grabbed me by the neck and started telling me that we were provocateurs, to stop doing that. After he let me go, he did not legitimize me", he said.
He points out that he did not feel comfortable:
"Because I turned out to be the culprit even though they were the first to provoke us and seem to have set us up."
Elšani: The police officer did not exceed his authority
The deputy commander for the North region, Veton Elšani, who received the award for honorary citizen of North Mitrovica on the same day, confirmed the incident.
And while he states that the graduates duly registered the gathering, he points out that during the celebration, at the end of the Mitovic Promenade, there was an incident, when, according to him, the graduates threw things at the guests of the Albanian nationality, who were sitting in catering establishments owned by Albanians.
According to him, the police intervened by approaching the graduates and asking them not to do that.
When asked if the police officer overstepped his authority by grabbing the young man's neck, Elšani says:
"I don't think so, he didn't overstep."
At the same time, he states that there is no basis for initiating the case.
EULEX: Excessive force
Contrary to Elšani's statement, the head of the EULEX Mission in Kosovo, Giovanni Pietro Barbano, announced on Friday that he was deeply shocked and condemned the excessive use of force by a Kosovo police officer against a high school student in northern Mitrovica.
I have conveyed my concerns to the authorities in the Kosovo Police and I am convinced that those responsible for that unacceptable act will be held accountable in accordance with the law, Barbano said in a post on the X social network.
Sources: FoNet/KoSSev
