Radojevic: Court proceedings over the banner are not against me, but against the Municipality of North Mitrovica

The Mayor of North Mitrovica, Milan Radojevic, gave a statement at the Basic Court in South Mitrovica in connection with proceedings initiated over the attempted placement of a banner on Christmas Eve. After leaving the courtroom, Radojevic emphasized that the proceedings are not being conducted against him personally, but against the Municipality of North Mitrovica.

The mayor noted that a number of representatives of the international community also attended the hearing and followed the course of the proceedings.
“It is important to say that this is not a proceeding against Milan Radojevic, but rather the question is whether the Municipality of North Mitrovica will function in accordance with its laws or not. The proceedings were initiated because of the placement of a banner and because the police did not grant permission for that banner to be placed. The police do not decide on such matters. The municipality has its own competencies and decides on that issue. Everything was done in accordance with the law and I do not feel responsible for the proceedings initiated by members of the Kosovo Police. I believe that the outcome of the proceedings will clarify the matter, that is, confirm that the Municipality of North Mitrovica has its own competencies in accordance with the law and that it can function accordingly, while the Kosovo Police have their own competencies and should not interfere in this,” he said, adding that any different decision could have broader consequences for the functioning of local self-government.

Radojevic stated that the next hearing has been scheduled for March 25, when members of the Kosovo Police who initiated the proceedings are also expected to testify.
Speaking about jurisdiction and the conduct of the proceedings before the court in South Mitrovica, he said that the details were not fully known to him.
“As for jurisdiction, to be honest, I am not sufficiently familiar with it to comment on it, so I truly cannot give a precise answer. I assume that they have divided it internally. The charge is: failure to comply with an order issued by an official. However, if the decision to place the banner was made in accordance with the law, if there is a mayoral decision and his signature, a single patrol cannot debate it nor order whether the banner will be placed or not. Even if there is suspicion that something is contrary to the law, there are judicial instances that regulate such matters through regular procedures, not in the manner in which the police acted on January 6 and how, in my opinion, they are still attempting to act on the territory of the Municipality of North Mitrovica,” Radojevic concluded.

The proceedings were officially initiated over the attempted placement of a banner ahead of Christmas, which representatives of the Serb List, based on a decision by Mayor Milan Radojevic, intended to install in the center of North Mitrovica. At the time, the police did not allow the banner to be placed, after which proceedings were initiated for what was described as failure to comply with an order issued by an official.