Attorney Pantovic: Verdict against Ivan Mrkic is a continuation of legal violence against Serbs in Kosovo

The Basic Court in Mitrovica announced yesterday that Ivan Mrkic has been sentenced to one year and five months in prison for inflicting minor bodily harm. His attorney, Ljubomir Pantovic, told Kosovo Online that the verdict is a continuation of legal violence against Serbs in northern Kosovo.

Mrkic was convicted in connection with an incident that occurred on November 17, 2022, when a cameraman from the Insajderi portal was injured in North Mitrovica. Pantovic says the sentence represents “a continued effort to discipline the population in northern Kosovo.”

“This is a draconian sentence that significantly exceeds the sentencing norms of courts in this area, by as much as five times, I would say. This verdict is, in my opinion, part of ongoing legal violence against the local population, and it serves the purpose of disciplining us in northern Kosovo by the Kosovo judiciary. I can tell you sincerely, I have been practicing criminal law for 33 years, 30 of them as a defense attorney, and I do not recall a single case where someone was sentenced to 17 months in prison for causing minor bodily harm, where the victim suffered only soft tissue bruising, in plain words, a bruise. That is, there were no consequences to his health,” the attorney stated.

He emphasizes that courts usually issue suspended sentences or prison terms that are converted into fines.

“In this case, all mitigating circumstances were present, and all legal grounds existed, something I pointed out to the court, for Ivan Mrkic to receive the lightest possible sentence. For several reasons. First, he admitted to committing the act, which is a significant mitigating factor. Secondly, he had no prior convictions. No other criminal proceedings are pending against him. He expressed remorse and regret for what he had done. And I firmly assert that there was not a single legal basis for this kind of sentence. One more thing. I am certain that had this offense occurred between individuals of the same ethnicity, the sentence would have been much lighter. As it stands, I see this as legal violence, as a continuation of disciplining the population in northern Kosovo. Unfortunately, this is now increasingly being carried out even by the local court,” Pantovic added.

He says this situation and the frequent arrests are affecting the lives of Serbs in the north, creating a widespread sense of fear.

“You see, every person who hears about someone being arrested or sentenced inevitably imagines themselves in that situation, and it is completely natural for people to feel a certain fear, afraid that the same might happen to them without cause. We had a situation where a police officer on a promenade aggressively and violently grabbed a boy by the neck. Instead of arresting him if he did something wrong or simply speaking with him, he just grabbed and held him by the neck relentlessly. People see themselves in those situations, they are afraid, and of course this leads some to think and say – ‘It is really not easy to live here, maybe I should find a safer place for myself and my family,’” Pantovic concluded.