What will happen to the villas in Brezovica, whose permits were allegedly bribed?

Foundation in Ferizaj has called for the deployment of the detention measure to Bratislav Nikollich, the Serbian List official and former head of Shrpca, the Serb majority municipality in southern Kosovo, confirmed by this prosecutor for Radio Free Europe.

The prosecution has sought to establish the detention measure against nine other people, who were arrested Tuesday in allegations of misuse of the official position.

The detention decision is expected to be made on December 23rd.

The request for the detention measure is said to have been reasonable suspicion that Nikollic, from 2014 to October 2018, received money and gifts directly in exchange for providing construction permits at “National Park. Sharri”, in the second and third zone in Brezovica, respectively.

The prosecution suspects Nikolic has misused the official task with the aim of profiting wealth for himself, but also “has accepted gifts with the aim of exercising unjust influence in deciding official persons to grant construction permits”.

Nikollic allegedly has benefited up to 1m euros for illegally issued permits for building facilities in Brezovica.

Brezovica is in the Shtrpce municipality and is part of the <x0 National Park. Sharri” It is known for the ski center, which is only 30 miles [9 km] from the center of Brezovica.

“National Park Sharri” extends along the border with northern Macedonia to 39,000 hectares of land, of which 39 percent are in the Shtrpce municipality.

Under the Law for National Park “There are protected regimes: first, second, third, and area of influence. Construction is not allowed in the first and second areas, which include parts of the park with extraordinary natural features characterized by ecosystems and other natural values. Construction is allowed in the park's third area, in accordance with the law.

What will happen to buildings built without permission?

Bajram Caffejoll, director of the National Park “Sharri”, tells Radio Free Europe that “all facilities built without permission, which have exceeded, as well as buildings built in the second areas must be destroyed and returned to their previous state”.

He also adds that the Directorate for Administration of National Park “Sharri” is a “concern with developments in the field of construction and infrastructure within the territory of the National Park éSharrião, namely, developments in villa construction, hotels, road opening and infrastructure in general, with particular emphasis on the Brezovica management area”.

Ferizaj's foundation prosecutor announced on December 21st that objects that were built without permission would be temporarily seized.

Under the Law for National Park “Sharri”, Brezovica belongs to the third area, which includes construction territory, reconstruction, protection of traditional objects, as well as resolution and tourism.

The Ministry of Urbanism and Spatial Planning says the first and second-class construction permits give the municipality, which means that Shtrpca's local self-government was responsible for granting permits for holiday homes or villas in Brezovica.

The subx0> Permissions are provided by the directorates for urbanism, while construction performance is monitored by municipal inspectorate. The Ministry of Infrastructure and Spatial Planning's Inspectorate conducted inspections in municipalities regarding the implementation of laws in specific areas”, the Urban Ministry of Urbanism's response sent to Radio Free Europe, says.

Similarly, the Ministry of Urbanism and Spatial Planning says irregularities have been observed in the municipality of Shrpca as far as construction is concerned.

In the report on the state of the environment in Kosovo, for 2018-2019, prepared by the Agency for Environmental Protection, the Directorate for Management National Park “is said to be in this period Sharri” initiated 624 law enforcement procedures.

It has been found that effective management of protected zones and preventing illegal activities in these areas are a challenge for Kosovo institutions.

Who's Bratislav Nikollick?

Bratsil Nikollic has been chairman of the Shtrpce municipality since 2009, when this municipality was formed through the decentralisation process in Kosovo.

Although he won local elections in 2013 as Independent Liberal Party candidate (SLS), Bratislav Nikollic soon joined the Serbian List, which was formed the same year, with Belgrade's support.

In September 2015, Bratislav Nikollic was appointed commissioner of the Serbian Progressive Party (SNS) in Shrpca, this ruling party in Serbia, at which the current president, Aleksandar Vuciq, top.

Then, collective membership in the SNS took place in Shtrpce. So about 3,000 presonas joined the Serbian Progressive Party.

Meanwhile, Bratislav Nikollich's former party, the Independent Liberal Party, declared political mortorium in 2020, due to full domination of the Serbian List.

The Serbian list, in almost all parliamentary and local elections, has won about 90 per cent of the Serb community's votes in Kosovo and thus has the ten seats guaranteed for the Serb community in the Kosovo Assembly, as well as participates in the work of the Government of Kosovo.

It also has power in all ten Serb-run municipalities in Kosovo.

What has Nikollic reported to the Anti-Corruption Agency?

In March 2021, Bratislav Nikollic reported to the Kosovo Anti-Corruption Agency that there was a 90 square metres flat worth 50,000 euros and a car worth 65,000 euros.

He has also reported that as chairman of the Shrpca municipality at the annual level, he has won about 14,000 euros a year.

Nikollic has been mayor of this municipality until the end of November 2021, when after the October local elections held in Kosovo, the post he held and took over from the Serbian List as well.

The Land Rover vehicle, worth about 70,000 euros, Nikollic had reported it for the first time to the Kosovo Anti-Corruption Agency in 2016.

Just a year earlier (2015), Nikollic reported to the Anti-Corruption Agency that he owned a car worth 7,000 euros.

In addition to the post of Shtrpca chairman, Bratislav Nikollic has also held the position of co-ordinator in the Sterpce interim municipal body, which is financed by Belgrade.

Who else was arrested and what was seized?

In addition to Bratislav Nikollich, nine other people have been arrested, including the director for Urbanism in the Sterpce municipality, Dimitrije Rakekevic.

Several owners of construction companies have also been arrested, as well as several citizens, with initials: D.M., H.B., S.M., R.B., R.H., B.I., S.S. and J.K.

Prosecutor Rasim Maloku, at a media conference on December 21st, has explained that most of the facilities in Brezovica have been built illegally and that suspects have received villas and cars as a gift in exchange for construction permits.

Over 60,000 euros have been seized during the Kosovo Police action, various weapons, eight cars worth 300,000 euros, as well as equipment for producing cryptovaluts.

How did the Serbian List and Serbia react to the arrests in Shrpca?

After the prosecution presented details of the arrest for illegal construction permits on December 21st, the branch of the Serbian List in Shtrpce held an emergency meeting.

At this meeting it was concluded, by which “strongly condemned the way police conducted the action, in which children and families of Serbian List officials have been exposed to brutal interventions in their homes and intimidation in the early hours of the morning”.

As one statement states, unequivocally backing is offered to all detained members of the Serbian List and their families.

We know and believe the charges against them will prove groundless. The whole situation and the way we conduct the action, we see it as an attack on all of us, an attack on the Serbian List, on Bratislav Nikollis, who for years fought for peace and co-existence, to make the Shtrepca Community an example of multiethnicity in Kosovo, which appears to be impedinging by some to”, is said in the communique issued by the Serbian List.

Meanwhile, Serbian President Aleksandar Vuciq has declared that “state will provide legal assistance to those arrested in Shtrpce and that he will have more information on this development after returning to Belgrade.

On December 21st, when Kosovo Police carried out an action in Shrpca, Vuciq was in Albania, on the occasion of the regional initiative “Open Balkans”.

Earlier, the director of the so-called Office for Kosovo in Serbia government, Petar Petkov, has said that Kosovo Police Action in Shtrepca “is another brutal attempt to intimidate the Serb people in Kosovo and a new terror of Prime Minister Albin Kurti”.