The non-governmental organization (NGO) Aktiv from North Mitrovica claims that their director, Miodrag Milicevic, was exposed to “physical and verbal harassment” on November 14, accusing members of the Kosovo Police Special Unit of such an action.
The statement by the NGO Aktiv states that a member of the Kosovo Police Special Unit separated Miličević from the convoy at the crossing in Jarinje and punched him in the stomach during questioning.
The claim by the NGO Aktiv has been published in several Serbian media outlets, with the headline interpreting it as Kurti's sole plan to attack Serbs.
The articles published in the Serbian media bear these titles: “SERBS ARE BEATING! Albin Kurti's only plan! Albanian special forces beat up Miličević! (Alo.rs) and “KURT'S DEMOCRACY – THE BEATING OF SERBS, HIS ONLY PROGRAM!” (Novosti.rs).
Link to the press release published by NGO Aktiv:
http://ngoaktiv.org/alb/news/excessive-use-of-force-by-the-kosovo-police?fbclid=IwAR05zpjFd-bXFG9hDHGZe5r622sgyTn8SJl9fVQ2iWosE9bgDREU6JxqruY
Links to articles published in Serbian media:
https://informer.rs/vesti/politika/749431/miodrag-milicevic-nvo-aljbin-kurti-maltretiranje-program
Parts of the press release published by NGO Aktiv:
Through this press release, we inform the public, the competent police and judicial authorities, as well as local and international institutions and representatives, that today, Monday, November 14, in northern Kosovo, the executive director of the NGO AKTIV, Miodrag Milliqević, was subjected to physical and verbal abuse by members of the Kosovo Police Special Unit.
The incident occurred at around 09:30, near the Jarinje crossing, when the executive director of the NGO, Miodrag Milliqević, was detained by members of the Kosovo Special Unit and separated from the convoy, where during questioning by a member of the unit in question he was hit in the stomach.
At the same time, the same members subjected Miliqeviqi to verbal abuse, who shouted at him and asked him to "shut up" by asking him "why he doesn't have Kosovo documents."
The NGO Aktiv claims that the director of this organization, Milorad Milicevic, was physically and verbally harassed by special units of the Kosovo Police, without providing any concrete evidence for this.
This claim, in addition to gaining traction in the Serbian media, was interpreted as an action within the framework of what is called the plan of the Prime Minister of Kosovo, Albin Kurti, to attack Serbs.
On the other hand, the Kosovo Police have called these claims untrue. According to the police statement, the person with the initials MM passed through the Jarinje crossing without any problems after completing the procedure at the border. It is also emphasized that there was no incident or mistreatment against him as stated or alluded to in the published articles. (here)
The Kosovo Police also added that "For the purpose of re-verification, additional measures have been taken, where police officers on duty in Jarinje have also asked the Serbian side if anyone has filed any complaints, where the shift supervisor of the Serbian side confirmed that so far there have been no complaints about bad behavior or anything of this nature." (here)
The Minister of Internal Affairs, Xhelal Sveçla, assesses that in the initial investigation there is no indication of the alleged mistreatment. He said in a post on Twitter that he has requested a report and investigation from the Kosovo Police Inspectorate (IPK) into what happened. (here)
Analyze:
The non-governmental organization (NGO) Aktiv from North Mitrovica claims that their director, Miodrag Miličević, was exposed to “physical and verbal harassment” by the Kosovo Police special unit on November 14.
The claim by the NGO Aktiv has gained ground in some Serbian media outlets with tendentious and unfounded claims that targeting Serbs is Kurti's plan.
This claim has been called untrue by the Kosovo Police and the Minister of Interior, Xhelal Sveçla, as the initial investigation found no evidence of the alleged mistreatment.
Based on its work methodology, hibrid.info assesses that these claims are classified as "unverified content".
Rating:
The “Unverified” rating is given to those media reports that do not provide sufficient information to confirm the claims made in the report, and which have not been able to confirm the same due to the lack or non-possession of reliable sources.