Serbian official who insulted the KLA is fined 3 euros

Serbian government official Igor Popovic, who insulted the KLA, has been expelled from Kosovo. The court ordered the expulsion, replacing his 6-month prison sentence with a fine of 3 euros and a ban on entering Kosovo for two years. The sentence was imposed after Popovic reached a plea agreement with the Prosecutor's Office.

The Basic Court in Pristina has sentenced to six months in prison the official of the Serbian Government, Igor Popović, who during a rally in Hoçë e Madhe, Rahovec, insulted the KLA, calling it a terrorist organization. But he will not serve the sentence in prison, since in an agreement with the Prosecution he previously pleaded guilty to the criminal offense of "Inciting discord and intolerance", and agreed that the sentence be replaced with a fine of 3 thousand euros and that he be banned from entering Kosovo for a period of two years.

The verdict was announced on Friday by Judge Kujtim Krasniqi, while the hearing was held in the Serious Crimes Department. Popovici was not present in the courtroom when the verdict was announced.

"The court, in accordance with the criminal and procedural provisions, sentences the same to a prison sentence of 6 months, which sentence, with the consent of the accused, is replaced by a fine of 3 thousand euros. The accused is obliged to pay this sentence within 15 days after the fullness of this judgment. The time spent in pre-trial detention from July 17, 2025 to July 08, 2025 is counted towards the imposed imprisonment. The court also records an additional judgment, orders the expulsion of the defendant, Igor Popovic, from the territory of the Republic of Kosovo and prohibits his entry for two years. The accused's pre-trial detention is terminated today, on August 08.08.2025, XNUMX, with a special and reasoned decision," said Judge Kujtim Krasniqi.

The decision was pronounced on Friday afternoon, and the initial hearing was held in the morning, where the prosecutor in the case, Fikrije Krasniqi-Zejnullahu, requested that Popovic be sentenced in accordance with the agreement with her.

"The agreement results in the Court proposing that it impose the same sentence as in the agreement, that for the criminal offense for which he is accused, he be sentenced to six months in prison, which sentence should be replaced with a fine of 3 thousand euros. At the same time, the full sentence should be imposed - expulsion from the state of Kosovo within a period of two years, which is what we agreed on," said Fikrije Krasniqi-Fejzullahu, the prosecutor in the case.

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This proposal was accepted by all parties to the proceedings. The accused Popović had nothing to add.

"No, I have nothing to add," said the accused Popovic.

And his lawyer, Miloš Delević, said that he stands by the agreement and had no objections.

"We stand by the plea agreement. I have nothing to add," Popovic's lawyer, Milos Delevic, stated.

Popovic, who holds the position of assistant director of the Office for Kosovo in the Serbian government, was arrested on July 19 at the border crossing with Serbia, Brnjak, a day after giving a speech in the village of Hoca e Madhe, during which he called the Liberation Army a terrorist organization.

Popovic had described the KLA as a terrorist organization and compared its actions to what is happening in Gaza, during a speech given at the ceremony commemorating Serbian victims in the municipality of Rahovec.

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Also, in this statement, he accused international institutions of "failure of justice", claiming that "the perpetrators of crimes against Serbs have never been punished".

On August 5, the Prosecution announced that it had filed an indictment against Igor Popović and that he had pleaded guilty to the criminal offense of "inciting discord and intolerance."

Popovic: I stand behind my words about the KLA, I have not made any agreements

Although the Basic Court in Pristina declared that Serbian government official Igor Popovic had reached a plea agreement, he himself denied this in a statement to Kosova Online, calling justice in Kosovo "politically instrumentalized."

"I just crossed the administrative border. A difficult period is over, but nothing is worse than what other Serbs who are imprisoned by God's justice are going through. Let's be clear right away, there is no agreement here with Kurti's judiciary, because I do not accept any guilt for what I said," Popovic said.

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He said he stands by his statements in Rahovec, when he described KLA members as "terrorists" and accused the Kosovo justice system of political persecution.

"This process is only a consequence of pressure from the politically instrumentalized judiciary in Pristina and as such has no power," he stressed. (ekonomiaonline)