Wrote: Etrit Rexhepi
Through a post on the social media Facebook, it was claimed that the group that carried out the attack in Banjska, Zvečan in September 2023, said it acted on orders from the Kosovo opposition.
The claim was published on Friday (October 31) by the Facebook account, named “Halil Geci"through a text and an image."
The truth?
The published content is not based on any facts. It cites "regional media circles", while also citing sources from investigations, as well as experts on political developments (without specific names). The content states that this group claimed that political structures from the opposition in Kosovo were behind the action, with the aim of overthrowing the Kurti Government.
Part of the content:
SHOCKING STATEMENT FROM RADOJCIQ'S GROUP: "WE ACT AT THE ORDER OF THE KOSOVO OPPOSITION"
The armed group that carried out the attack in Banjska claims that political structures from the opposition in Kosovo were behind the action, with the aim of overthrowing the Kurti government.
A new statement circulating in regional media circles has shocked public opinion in Kosovo. The group led by Milan Radojciqi, who is accused of organizing the terrorist attack in Banjska, is said to have acted on the orders of several representatives of the Kosovo opposition.
Sources close to the investigation claim that the group received political promises and covert support for actions aimed at destabilizing Albin Kurti's government. These allegations, if proven, could open a new chapter in the investigation into the behind-the-scenes events of September in the north of the country.
Hibrid.info has verified through "Google" for articles with similar claims. In no case has such content been found that there was such a statement from Radoicic's group or that this group has declared that it has acted "at the behest of the Kosovar opposition".
From the research, it turned out that similar content was published on Facebook on July 9th by the account named "Daim Hiseni".
Such content has not been found to exist in the Serbian language either (see here).
In addition to the article, a photograph was also published showing a photo from the Banjska case with a text that appears to be a media article.
Based on searches with the published image, it appears that the content was previously published on Facebook in the form of a video by the account "Albin Kingi" on July 14. And in this published video it can be seen that it was previously published on Tiktok.
Hibrid.info has verified for such publications on TikTok and has come across at least four accounts that have published the content, but with a later date (see here, here, here and here).
The publication of the "Halil Geci" account on Facebook has received over 460 shares, over 380 comments and over 850 reactions, as of the moment of treatment.
What is known about statements from this group?
In September 2023, Milan Radoićić claimed responsibility for the attacks on the Police on September 24 of that year in Banjska, Zvečan. As a result of these attacks, police officer Afrim Bunjaku was killed. Radoićić made the statement through a letter read by his lawyer, Goran Petronijević, to the public from Belgrade. (see here) Internet searches have not found any other statements from Radoićić or the other defendants.
In September 2024, the Kosovo Special Prosecution Office filed an indictment against 45 individuals for the armed attack in Banjska, charging most of them with committing terrorism and serious crimes against the constitutional order and security of the Republic of Kosovo. Three of the defendants included in the indictment are already in custody in Kosovo (see here).
Analysis:
Through a Facebook post, the "Halil Geci" account falsely claimed that the group accused of carrying out the attack in Banjska, Zvečan on September 24, 2023, issued a statement saying it acted on behalf of the Kosovo opposition.
The publication is not based on any facts. Hibrid.info has verified through online search engines and has not found any such statement published in any credible source.
A similar publication to the "Halil Geci" account has been found on several other Facebook and TikTok accounts before.
Therefore, based on its work methodology, hibrid.info assesses the content as "Fake News".
Reasoning:
The “Fake News” rating is given to informational content that is entirely fabricated or that contains factually incorrect claims or information. Content that is rated as fake news can be defined as having been created and distributed with the intent to misinform the public, i.e., to present a claim that is completely false as fact.