EULEX on the break-in at a church near Podujevo: Criminal complaint submitted to the prosecutor's office

A criminal complaint regarding the break-in at the Church of St. Archangel Michael in the village of Rakitnica near Podujevo has been submitted to the prosecutor's office, EULEX stated for Kosovo Online.

As emphasized by the mission, "in line with its robust monitoring mandate, EULEX is closely following this case."

On December 6, the Eparchy of Raska and Prizren issued a statement, noting that the criminal complaint by the Eparchy to the police had been "rejected twice, on December 1 and December 5, when the Eparchy attempted again, with its lawyer, to submit a criminal complaint to the police in the presence of the EULEX monitoring team."

When asked by Kosovo Online whether the Kosovo Police can reject a criminal complaint, EULEX provided the following response:

"From a legal standpoint, the Kosovo Police cannot reject any submitted criminal complaint. However, it has been confirmed that the criminal complaint has been submitted to the prosecutor's office," EULEX stated in a written response.

As a reminder, on November 28, a group of people led by self-proclaimed priest Nikolla Xhufka, an Albanian citizen, broke into the Church of St. Archangel Michael in the village of Rakitnica near Podujevo.

On December 6, a liturgy was held in the same church, officiated by Archimandrite Sava from the Visoki Decani Monastery, with the blessing of Bishop Teodosije of Raska-Prizren, and in concelebration with the parish priest, Archpriest Stanisa Arsic.