Sentence handed down to Igor Popovic: Two-year entry ban to Kosovo and €3,000 fine

The Basic Court in Pristina has sentenced the Assistant Director of the Serbian Government’s Office for Kosovo and Metohija, Igor Popovic, who was accused of the alleged criminal offense of “inciting division and intolerance,” to a fine of 3,000 euros and a two-year entry ban to Kosovo, thereby replacing a six-month prison sentence. Popovic will also be deported from Kosovo.

The Assistant Director of the Office for Kosovo and Metohija, Igor Popovic, was not present for the reading of the verdict.

Previously, Popovic had reached a plea agreement with the prosecution.

Judge Kujtim Krasniqi stated that Popovic’s detention would be terminated today and that the time he spent in custody would be credited toward his sentence.

The defendant is required to pay the monetary part of the sentence within 15 days of the final ruling.

The court also imposed an additional penalty on Popovic.

“The deportation of Igor Popovic from the territory of the Republic of Kosovo is ordered, and he is banned from entering for two years,” it was announced.

Popovic is also required to pay 100 euros in court costs and fees.

Popovic was arrested at the Brnjak crossing on July 18, after commemorating the anniversary of the suffering of Serbs in Orahovac, and was subsequently remanded in custody for up to 30 days.

The Special Prosecutor’s Office filed an indictment against Popovic on Tuesday, stating, among other things, that during his speech in Orahovac on July 18, he “deliberately and intentionally incited and publicly spread hatred and intolerance between ethnic groups.”