Todosijevic sentence, EU reacts: Kosovo respected Brussels agreement

The Court of Appeals in Kosovo has confirmed the Constitutional Court's act in Pristina, under which the deputy of the Kosovo Parliament from the Serbian List, Ivan Todosijevic, was sentenced to two years in prison for denying Recak's Massacre.

But the European Union has reacted to this issue, reminding Kosovo that it has not implemented an agreement reached in Brussels regarding such a case.

EU spokesperson for security and foreign policy Peter Stano, in a response to Clankosova.tv has said that Kosovo, like Serbia, should adhere to signed agreements.

“In terms of Mr. Todosijevic's trial modalities in appeal, we remember that the 2013 agreement reached in the dialogue between Kosovo and Serbia remains valid. This agreement envisions among other things that the “Appeals Court in Pristina will create a panel consisting of the majority of Kosovo Serb judges that will deal with all majority Kosovo Serb municipalities”. In this particular case, it's not respected”, Stano said about the portal.

He has also said that the Brussels Agreement is the cornerstone of the normalisation of relations between Kosovo and Serbia and cannot be undermined.

“The EU expects all dialogue agreements to be respected and fully implemented by both sides. We also expect both sides to contribute constructively to reaching a comprehensive, legally binding agreement for normalising relations between them”.

However, The EU opposes a feeling like Teodosijek and said it opposes values that promote Union.

At the same time, we strongly stress that any denial or revision of events occurred during the conflicts in the Western Balkans in the 1990s is contrary to the European Union's values and the Western Balkans' EU integration project. We urge everyone to show respect for the victims and work for a genuine and literal assessment of the past. The region needs reconciliation, stability and normalisation of relations”, Stano has finished.

Todosijevic in March 2019 had declared that <x0 reasons for NATO's aggression has been the so-called humanitarian catastrophe in Kosovo and the fabricated massacre of Recak”.

In this year, Todosijevic was Minister of Local Power Management, and for this statement was dismissed by the then prime minister of the Kosovo government, Ramush Haradinaj.

Following the Constitutional Court's ruling, the defendant's defense had complained to the Supreme Court, saying he did no offense with his statement. However, he was convicted of inciting hatred, division, or national, racial, religious, or ethnic failure.

Racan's massacre, in which 45 Kosovo Albanians were killed by Serb forces, was one of the events that postponed NATO will launch the bombing campaign to stop ethnic cleansing in Kosovo.