Belgrade via BIA seeks names of police who arrested Serbian official for insulting KLA

“The arrest of deputy director of the Office for Kosovo in the Serbian Government, Igor Popovic from the Kosovo Police, and the detention order of one month is a humiliation for the Vuciqi regime and for the fact that Serbia is no longer a state”, says politicologist Ognjen Gogic.

Popoviqi was arrested Friday evening in Brnjak, after earlier addressing those attending the meeting to commemorate Serbs from Rahoveci. Popovi called members of the KLA terrorists, for this reason they were detained, then sent to the detention unit in Gjilan and ordered 30-day detention.

On Monday, the Supreme Public Prosecutor in Belgrade sent official requests to the Kosovo Police Directorate of the Interior Ministry of Serbia and the Security and Information Agency (BIA), aimed at identifying persons who were submitted on 18 July as members of the Kosovo police, arrested and brought to Pristina Igor Popovovic, deputy director of the Office for Kosovo in the Serbian Government.

Serbia's president, Aleksandar Vuciq, said on Sunday on Pink TV that Popovic's arrest shows that Alibin Kurti, Kosovo's incumbent prime minister, has gone mad and that he wants conflicts, and that Belgrade will fight to preserve peace and stability, but will also react in a very tough and strong way “.

Kurti declared that rule of law is the foundation of Kosovo and that anyone who violates law and order will be banned.

Igor Popovic's “Act is no exception to”, he noted.

The Belgrade Prosecutor's request is not naive for Kosovo Police members, because Serbia may issue an arrest warrant for them, which may only remain an arrest warrant on Serbia's territory, but there is also the possibility that an international arrest warrant will be made”, points out politicalologist Ognjen Gogic.

If conditions are created and an international arrest warrant is made, it increases the price for Kosovo to undertake such things in the future, then Kosovo will be less willing to do so. The other thing is, I don't know if it will go that far, as if Serbia draws recognition of Kosovo's jurisdiction. With the Brussels agreement, Serbia de facto recognised Kosovo police and judiciary. This means that Serbia may not recognise judicial authorities and police because they say “persona presenting itself as Kosovo police officers”, i.e., are private individuals who appear to be such,”, he says.

Gogic adds that this could mean the full withdrawal of the Brussels Agreement.

According to him, it depends on how far Belgrade will go with this, and that this is a dangerous game and that it would be a dangerous act.

“O will stay with this and nothing will happen to anyone, or Belgrade will start taking action. This is for the interior audience, but there may be further consequences. If they were to begin arresting members of the Kosovo Police, Prosecutor and the judiciary, they would say they were simply presenting themselves as such. There is also the danger of conflict”, Gogic points out./Periscopi/