Deputy Director of the Office for Kosovo and Metohija Igor Popovic detained over statement following Memorial in Orahovac

The Office for Kosovo and Metohija announced this evening that Igor Popovic, Deputy Director in charge of legal affairs, was detained in Kosovo following a statement he made after attending a memorial for Serbian victims in Orahovac.

"By order of Albin Kurti, this evening in Kosovo and Metohija, the Deputy Director of the Office for Kosovo and Metohija in charge of legal affairs, Igor Popovic, was detained. Today, he attended the commemoration of the anniversary of the suffering of Serbs in the Orahovac region at the hands of the criminal KLA. Popovic was detained for his statement following the memorial, merely for calling by its rightful name those who killed 47 Serbs and Roma and kidnapped more than a hundred innocent people during July 1998," the Office said in its statement.

They warned that with this move, "arsonist Kurti" is attempting to provoke a new crisis on the ground and to send a message to Serbs that there is neither peace nor justice for them.

The Director of the Office for Kosovo and Metohija immediately informed Brussels about the detention of his colleague and demanded his urgent release, as well as protection from the international missions operating in Kosovo.

The Office added that the public would be promptly informed of any further developments regarding this case.

Earlier today in Orahovac, Popovic stated that the suffering of Serbs in that municipality remains an open wound that continues to cause pain.

“It is as if one were trying to deliver a speech on Golgotha in Jerusalem, where Christ suffered. Our brothers perished because KLA terrorists did not want Serbs to remain in this area, and by executing them, they sought to intimidate the rest of the Serbian population into leaving. It is painful that the terrorists and organizers, the perpetrators of the crimes, have not been found or punished all these years, even as we watch the entire Gaza Strip being destroyed in response to the abduction of Israeli civilians. Despite all the international investigative missions—from UNMIK, EULEX, and the Hague Tribunal—no one has been tried or held accountable. On the contrary, the KLA continues to be portrayed as a liberation movement and freedom fighters,” Popovic stated.