Wrote: Festim Rizanaj
Political entity Serbian List reported that on January 25, unknown persons threw a Molotov cocktail in front of the home of activist Aleksandra Popović in Ranilug, a Serb-majority municipality in southeastern Kosovo. The explosive device hit Popović's family car, completely burning it.
Petar Petkovic, director of the Office for Kosovo in the Government of Serbia, has stated that this act was carried out with the aim of intimidating members of the Serbian List in the committees, forcing them to withdraw from the polling stations and thus paving the way for electoral manipulation by Albin Kurti.
The Serbian List also claims that the attack on Aleksandar Popović's car was politically motivated to intimidate its members and favor other parties.
in Serbian media It was claimed that a “new Albanian attack on Kosovo” had taken place, referring to the Molotov cocktail attack that was thrown in front of the house of a member of the Serbian List. The title “Novi šiptarski napad na Kosovo: Bacili 'molotovljev koktel' na kuću članice Srpske liste” refers to the violent act that occurred in Ranillug, which was presented as an attempt to intimidate representatives of the Serbian List.
Such a claim is not supported by concrete evidence, while the perpetrators of the act in Ranillug remain unknown.
What did Petar Petkovic and the Serbian List claim?
Two Molotov cocktails were thrown at the car of Aleksandra Popović, a member of the Municipal Election Commission (MEC) from the Serbian List in Ranilug, causing it to burn.
Petar Petkovic, director of the Office for Kosovo and Metohija, stated that the explosive attack on the house of a member of the Municipal Election Commission (MEC) from the Serbian List in Ranilug reflects “Pristina’s fear and nervousness due to Serbian unity and the expected victory of the SL”. He claimed that these actions are aimed at intimidating SL representatives to remove them from the electoral process, paving the way for Albin Kurti’s manipulations. (here)
The Serbian List has linked the case to the elections, claiming that the explosion that burned down Popović’s family car was a politically motivated act. “This is undoubtedly an attack aimed at intimidating members of the Serbian List election commissions, with the aim of removing them from monitoring the election process and favoring other parties – Pristina’s favorites,” the SL statement said. (here)
Neither Petar Petkovic nor the Serbian List offer any evidence to support the claim that the incident in Ranilug is related to the elections.
What did the Prosecution and Police say about the case?
Furthermore, acting prosecutor Agron Uka said for the media that it is suspected that two Molotov cocktails were thrown at the car of a member. "Two Molotov cocktails were thrown at the car of a member of the electoral commission. It is possible that the suspect suffered burns, we are looking for evidence."
The case was also reported in the 24-hour report of the Kosovo Police: "Ranillug / 25.01.2025 – 20:35. It is reported that unknown persons have set fire to a car with Serbian license plates. Firefighters have extinguished the fire. The case is being investigated."
So, based on the Police report, there is no report on the perpetrators and motives of the crime, emphasizing that the case is being investigated.
Analyze:
The Serbian List, the largest Serb party in Kosovo supported by Belgrade, announced that on January 25, unknown persons threw a Molotov cocktail in front of the house of its activist, Aleksandra Popović, in Ranilug.
According to the Serbian List, this explosive device hit the Popovic family's car, completely burning it.
Petar Petkovic, director of the Office for Kosovo in the Government of Serbia, stated that this act was intended to intimidate members of the Serbian List in committees and prevent them from monitoring the elections, as he said, to pave the way for electoral manipulation by Albin Kurti.
Neither Petar Petkovic nor the Serbian List have provided evidence to support the claim that the Ranilug/Ranillug incident is election-related. Police have stressed that the case is under investigation and the perpetrators and motives for the act are still unknown.
Based on its work methodology, hibrid.info considers this claim to be 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.