The Special Prosecutor’s Office of Kosovo has dropped the charges against three Montenegrins arrested at the end of last year on suspicion of “inciting hatred and intolerance,” confirmed Liridona Kozmaqi, spokesperson for the Special Prosecutor’s Office, on Friday.
Kozmaqi stated that “the evidence collected did not prove that the defendants R.K., M.J., and D.L. committed the criminal act under investigation by the Special Prosecutor’s Office.”
Kosovo police arrested Rajko Krivokapić, 34, Marinko Jovanović, 24, and Dragutin Lalatović, 24, for having a vehicle with license plates that displayed the phrase “Kosovo is Serbia” when they visited the Deçani Monastery on November 24, 2024.
Such slogans, presenting Kosovo as part of Serbia, are treated by Kosovo authorities as provocations and incitement to national hatred and intolerance.
The trio had been held in detention since November 2024 under the orders of the Basic Court in Peja.
After their arrest in November, Montenegro’s Defense Minister, Dragan Krapović, stated that two of the three arrested were members of the Montenegrin Army, and “they are officially on medical leave.”
“They are good and exemplary members of the army,” Krapović said at the time.
Their arrest sparked protests and reactions from the Serbian Orthodox Church in Montenegro, as well as from Nikšić’s mayor, Marko Kovačević, a member of the New Serbian Democracy (Nova Srpska Demokratija – NSD) party, which was recently dissolved.
At the time, the Serbian Orthodox Church in Montenegro launched “a strong protest against the southern Serbian province for the arrest of believers,” as well as a protest against Montenegrin authorities.
Pro-Serbian political parties in Montenegro, along with the Serbian Orthodox Church, do not recognize Kosovo as an independent state, instead considering it as part of Serbia’s territory.
Montenegro recognized Kosovo’s independence in 2008, during the rule of the Democratic Party of Socialists, which was ousted from power in August 2020.
