Patriarch awards Danica Marinkovic the order of Saint Sava: May your example inspire others never to abandon the truth

Patriarch Porfirije today awarded the Second Class Order of Saint Sava to Danica Marinkovic, the investigating judge who led the investigation into the events in Racak in January 1999.

According to the citation accompanying the award, Marinkovic received the decoration "in recognition of her many years of steadfast service to truth and justice, as well as for her contribution to shedding light on the suffering of the Serbian people in Kosovo and Metohija."

"As an investigating judge of the District Court in Pristina, Danica Marinkovic led the on-site investigation following the events in the village of Racak in 1999. Through her professional work and persistence in presenting the facts, despite intense political pressure and numerous threats, she testified before international institutions and remained steadfast in defending the truth about the events in Kosovo and Metohija," the Serbian Orthodox Church said in a statement.

Addressing Marinkovic, Patriarch Porfirije said it was a blessing and a joy for the Church to have the opportunity to express its gratitude for her devotion to her people, truth, and justice.

"Everything you have done out of love for your people and love for God demonstrates that one should never give up when guided by genuine motives and a goal pleasing to God. You have shown that we should never surrender and that, no matter how small and powerless we may appear compared to the mighty of this world, the Lord ensures that justice and truth become so evident that even the most powerful cannot turn a blind eye to them. Therefore, we felt that the very least we could do was to express our profound gratitude by awarding you the Second Class Order of Saint Sava. May your example inspire all of us never to abandon truth, justice, and love," Patriarch Porfirije said.

Marinkovic said the award was, for her, confirmation that she had done the right thing.

"I was always guided by the belief that I had a guardian angel watching over and protecting me, because I found myself in life-threatening situations many times. I was threatened, and there were attempts to intimidate me, but none of that shook my resolve. I succeeded in establishing the truth and testifying to that truth before international courts. Everything I did, I did for Serbia and for my people. This decoration is a great source of satisfaction and confirmation that I was on the right path. If I had to choose again, I would do exactly the same," Marinkovic said, adding that she has received tremendous support from many people, especially the Serbs of Kosovo.

As an investigating judge of the District Court in Pristina, Danica Marinkovic led the investigation into the events in Racak in 1999 and later testified about the case before the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY).

On 15 January 1999, an armed clash between Serbian police forces and members of the Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA) took place in the village of Racak, in the municipality of Stimlje, Kosovo. Following the clash, William Walker, then head of the OSCE Kosovo Verification Mission, accused Serbian forces of carrying out "a massacre of innocent civilians."

Late last year, the authorities in Pristina filed an indictment, and the first hearing in absentia is expected to take place in July against 21 members of the Serbian police on suspicion of war crimes. More recently, five Serbs were arrested in Kosovo on similar suspicions.