The Basic Court in Prishtina has ordered the deportation and a three-year entry ban to Kosovo, along with fines, for individuals detained in Gazimestan during the Vidovdan commemoration on June 28, who were charged with “causing disturbances and disrupting public order and peace.”
The deportation order and entry ban apply to foreign nationals who do not possess Kosovo-issued documents.
The Kosovo Police initially detained 37 people, but 36 were brought before the court. Most of them are citizens of Serbia and other countries in the region. Their personal documents were confiscated until the court delivered its verdict.
Presiding Judge Naime Krasniqi said the documents would not be returned to the 36 individuals until they paid the €700 fine imposed by the court.
Judge Krasniqi said the defendants were found guilty because they had chanted “Kosovo is Serbia” and displayed the three-finger salute, which the court considered to be a nationalist message.
She noted that, before the Vidovdan gathering began in Gazimestan near Prishtina, Kosovo Police had warned participants that displaying any symbols promoting interethnic, religious, or political hatred was prohibited.
Serbs from Kosovo, Serbia, and other countries in the region traditionally gather in Gazimestan every June 28 to mark Vidovdan, a religious holiday commemorating the 1389 Battle of Kosovo against the Ottoman Empire.
Meanwhile, allegations have emerged claiming that some of those detained during the Vidovdan commemoration were subjected to psychological and physical mistreatment by Kosovo police officers.
Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty said it was unable to independently verify those claims. The Kosovo Police Inspectorate stated that it would investigate the allegations ex officio, although it added that it had not received any formal complaints regarding the events in Gazimestan.
The Office for Kosovo and Metohija condemned the detentions during the Vidovdan commemoration, describing them as “a shameful and unworthy act of repression.”
Gazimestan is also known for the speech delivered there in 1989 by former Serbian leader Slobodan Milosević.
That speech is widely regarded as one of the events that preceded the armed conflicts following the breakup of the former Yugoslavia.
