Wrote: Endrit Berisha
Sasha Zlatkovic's five-month prison sentence after pleading guilty to inciting discord and intolerance has been interpreted as "Pristina's intention to suppress and intimidate Serbs."
The claim was made by the Office for Kosovo in the Government of Serbia in a press release on Friday (August 30th).
What's wrong with this claim?
“The verdict against Sasha Zlatkovic is proof that Pristina's sole purpose is to oppress and intimidate Serbs,” the statement reads. The Office for Kosovo in the Government of Serbia has not based this claim on any facts.
According to the office's statement, "Zlatkovic was arrested for verbal insults while on his way to a humanitarian football tournament on the 25th anniversary of the killing of Serbs in Grackë e Vjetër." The office has also alleged that Kosovo Prime Minister Albin Kurti heads "criminal structures" with the aim of "expelling Serbs." It has not provided any evidence for any of these claims.
This office's publication link:
https://www.kim.gov.rs/lat/v5663.php
Excerpt from the press release (translated into Albanian):
"Of course, the court in Pristina does not condemn the authors of that charade, but therefore persecutes all those who dare to remember that the idea of dividing Kosovo and Metohija was and is essentially terrorist and criminal. The murderers of the Serbian reapers are perhaps today prominent figures in Albin Kurti's government, because for them Azem Kurtaj is a hero, who, despite the fact that he cold-bloodedly shot Serbian children on Christmas Eve, remains free. The political and judicial structures in Pristina are the core of the criminal structure headed by Albin Kurti, and anyone who claims that some regular democratic institutions function in Kosovo and Metohija is denying the clear and painful truth that the ideology of expelling the Serbian people has continued in Pristina for two and a half decades."
The statement of the Office for Kosovo in the Government of Serbia was also published by several Serbian-language media outlets (see here, here, here, and here)
What was the court's decision?
While the Office for Kosovo in the Serbian Government has described Zlatkovic's sentence as persecution, it was Zlatkovic himself who admitted guilt for the crime he committed.
The Special Prosecution Office announced on August 16 the filing of the indictment against Zlatkovic. “According to the indictment, the defendant SZ has publicly incited and spread hatred, division and intolerance between national groups in such a way that through the social network Tik-Tok he has insulted, offended and spread interethnic hatred,” the Special Prosecution Office announced (see NOTIFICATIONZlatkovic was arrested at the border crossing in Merdare on July 22.
As he wrote "betimipredetsi.com", according to the indictment, Zlatkovic had committed these actions at the end of June in Deçan. According to the article, while he was driving his "Polo" car, he made a video recording with his phone of a "Golf 3" car in front of him, which had the KLA emblem on the back, and then the same car had addressed him with the words in Serbian (translated into Albanian): "Look at how the KLA terrorists drive through Deçan, the man has the KLA emblem, as if he were wearing the emblem of Zvezda and Partizan, the motherfucking Albanians are training, and then someone hits him from behind."
On Thursday, the Basic Court in Pristina sentenced Zlatkovic, after he pleaded guilty to the charge of posting a video on social media that insulted the logo of the Kosovo Liberation Army and Albanian mothers.
In addition, Zlatković was also sentenced to an additional sentence - deportation of a foreigner from the territory of the Republic of Kosovo for a period of five years.
Under the Constitution of Kosovo, the judiciary is unique, independent, fair, apolitical and impartial and ensures equal access to the courts (Article 102).
Whereas Article 141, paragraph 1 of the Criminal Code of Kosovo, for the offense for which Zlatkovic was charged, specifies that "Anyone who publicly incites or spreads hatred, division and intolerance between national, racial, religious, ethnic and other groups, or based on sexual orientation, gender identity and other personal characteristics, in a manner that may disrupt public order, shall be punished by a fine or imprisonment for up to five (5) years."
Hibrid.info has on several occasions addressed unfounded allegations against the Office for Kosovo in the Government of Serbia (see some here, here and here)
Analyze:
The Office for Kosovo in the Government of Serbia has claimed without evidence that Sasha Zlatkovic's five-month prison sentence is proof that "Pristina's sole purpose is to oppress and intimidate Serbs."
However, it was Zlatkovic himself who pleaded guilty in court to the criminal offense of "Inciting discord and intolerance."
In the allegations, for which it did not cite facts, this office said that Prime Minister Albin Kurti leads "criminal structures" with the aim of expelling Serbs.
Based on the working methodology, hibrid.info evaluates the claim as a "conspiracy theory".
Reasoning:
"Conspiracy theories" are considered to be informational content that contains a false or unverifiable description of a phenomenon, event or person, presenting it as part or the result of a secret plan ("conspiracy"). The characteristic of these contents is that they present a series of claims, presented as facts, between which cause-effect relationships are established, without providing any reliable evidence.