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Kosova

Directors of Serbian institutions in Kosovo released from detention

Politiko 2026-06-11 15:17:18

The Basic Court in Pristina has lifted the one-month detention order for the directors of educational and health institutions operating in Kosovo according to the Serbian system, whom the Prosecution charges with the crime of influencing the free will of voters. Kosovo held early parliamentary elections on June 7. "They will be defended in freedom," the lawyer of one of the suspects, Jovana Fillipović, confirmed to Radio Free Europe (REL).

The court had initially ordered their detention on May 21, reasoning that there was a real risk that the defendants, if released, might evade criminal responsibility or repeat the criminal offense.

The arrest of the directors of Serbian institutions in Kosovo came after the leader of the Freedom, Justice and Survival Party, Nenad Rašić, accused the Serbian List of exerting pressure and blackmailing his supporters. He claimed that around 20 people who support him have been fired from these Serbian institutions and that in the coming period, around 40 other people are expected to receive a decision on their dismissal in the territory of the Gračanica municipality alone.

The detention order was issued for Ljubiša Karadžić, principal of the “Milladin Mitic” primary school in Llapna Selo; Boban Petrović, principal of the Electrotechnical High School in Sušića; Millica Dimić, principal of the “Braqa Aksić” primary school in Lipjan; Nebojša Rasić, principal of the Mechanical High School in Preoc; Bratislav Llazić, director of the Clinical-Hospital Center in Gračanica; Mirjana Dimitrijević, director of the Health House in Gračanica; Saša Mladenović, director of the Health House in Lower Gushterica.

Radio Free Europe (RFE/RL) has also published accounts of several people who said they were fired because they did not support the Serbian List, but rather Rašić's party. They had been employed for decades in Serbian health and education institutions in Kosovo, which in recent years have been largely controlled by the Serbian List - the largest Serb party in Kosovo that enjoys the support of Belgrade.

On the other hand, the Serbian List has denied these accusations, saying that they are about "persecution and intimidation."

Meanwhile, in a response to Radio Free Europe, the European Union has announced that its rule of law mission in Kosovo, EULEX, is monitoring this case on the ground and that it expects a "fair legal process throughout the entire procedure, in accordance with Kosovo laws and international standards."

Kosovo authorities have welcomed the reaction of the Kosovo Prosecution, while Serbian officials have assessed that the arrests were politically motivated. /REL