On February 17, Kosovo marked its 17th independence anniversary with celebrations. In Serb-majority Mitrovica, the sight of Albanian flags raised concerns, while security and law institutions failed to investigate the motive. Kallxo.com revealed that police have not reported all evidence to the prosecution.
On the night of February 17, a group of 12 Albanians from neighbouring Vushtrri/Vucitrn, including 10 minors, drove into North Mitrovica with Albanian flags on their vehicles. A threat was recorded in a video circulating on social media: “For each Chetnik (Serb nationalist/criminal slur), we have a bullet.” The provocative act sparked an immediate response from the Serbian community, who threw stones at the vehicles. Later, some members of the Serbian community attempted a counter-march with Serbian flags in the Albanian-majority south.
The situation had all the elements of an escalation that could have spiraled beyond control. However, the police issued only some traffic tickets as 10 members of the group were minors, while the prosecution of Mitrovica assessed there was no criminal offence regarding the threats.
A case closed without answers
Illustration: Kosovo Police. Photo/BIRN
Law and security authorities decided to close the case with only the issuance of traffic violation tickets, sidestepping deeper investigations into the motives behind the provocation and failing to identify who may have incited the group, which largely consisted of minors.
The Mitrovica Prosecution confirmed to Kallxo.com that the video materials were not sent to the prosecution for analysis to determine whether they contained a criminal offence, while the police also did not provide evidence that the materials were submitted to them.
This decision left many questions unanswered. Who encouraged these young individuals to engage in such an act? Why were the threats captured in the videos not considered a criminal matter?
“The on-duty prosecutors of the Basic Prosecution in Mitrovica were not contacted by the police regarding this issue,” Valon Preteni, spokesperson for the Basic Prosecution in Mitrovica, said.
Veton Elshani, the Deputy Director of Police in North Mitrovica, told Kallxo.com that the group entered North Mitrovica without proper identification and vehicle documentation and that there was no other legal basis to intervene beyond issuing traffic fines.
“By 7:00 PM, we had managed the Independence Day celebrations well. If any flag or symbol perceived as provocative appeared, we either turned the vehicles back or asked the individuals to remove them,” Elshani said.
As for the threats, Elshani admitted that he had seen the video in which one of the individuals inside the vehicle issued a threat, but he reiterated that prosecutors did not find grounds to open a criminal case.
“There was no other case except the misdemeanor that was pronounced in that place; surely, this has not been deemed reasonable even by the prosecution,” Elshani added regarding the issue of threats heard in the video recordings.
Additionally, the Prosecution did not instruct police to interview the minors’ parents or conduct searches in their homes to assess whether the threats were serious.
This situation sparked debate among legal experts and analysts, many of whom see troubling parallels to past incidents in Kosovo’s history.
During the KALLXO Pernime TV program, former police investigator turned lawyer, Hilmi Canolli, recalled the 2004 unrest in Kosovo that began with a minor provocation but quickly escalated into widespread riots. He warned that incidents like this one in Mitrovica could have serious consequences if law enforcement and the judiciary fail to handle them properly.
“We may not be dealing with a criminal offence. We saw what happened in 2004 when protests erupted across Kosovo, and despite military and police presence, it was difficult to control the situation,” Canolli said.
Lawyer Ardian Bajraktari also argued that the Prosecution should have treated the case more seriously.
“Incitement of hatred against specific groups occurs when such acts are made publicly. If the videos were published, authorities should examine them in this context,” Bajraktari said.
A failure in law enforcement
Kreshnik Gashi, researcher and editor-in-chief at Kallxo.com, criticised the authorities’ failure to fully investigate the February 17 incident, pointing out the institutional tolerance in addressing security threats.
“The core issue is that we do not know the motivation behind these youths’ actions. We have a group of 12 individuals, meaning there was some level of organisation. Someone encouraged them, gave them instructions, or led them to make this decision, which ultimately harmed Kosovo’s reputation,” Gashi said.
According to him, allowing such cases to go unexamined sends a dangerous message.
“When there is evidence that individuals have issued death threats and claimed to have bullets, yet the only consequence is a traffic ticket, we are witnessing a failure in law enforcement,” he added.
Additionally, Gashi argued that police should have confiscated the minors’ phones to determine the source of the threats and conducted home searches to assess the seriousness of the situation.
“What we are seeing is a blind eye being turned to a harmful action that, if repeated, could have far more serious consequences for the state,” Gashi concluded.
The fragile balance of Mitrovica
Vehicles move in the streets decorated with Serbian flags in Northern Mitrovica, Kosovo in 2022. Photo: EPA/Djordje Savic
Mitrovica, a divided city populated by Albanians and Serbs remains one of the most politically and socially sensitive areas in Kosovo where even minor provocations can trigger major incidents.
Bajraktari noted that the situation in the north is evolving, and there is a possibility that different groups or individuals are influencing minors.
“Law enforcement agencies should not shift blame but coordinate better. Since this incident happened recently, the case should be reopened to examine whether these youths acted alone or were influenced by others,” Bajraktari said.
Kreshnik Gashi questioned the police’s efforts in investigating the case.
“A group of 12 people, waving flags and using sirens, cannot simply go to the north without being questioned about who initiated and pushed them forward. We are not talking about an area that welcomes such actions,” Gashi explained.
“People have the right to display flags anywhere in Kosovo, but not in a crisis zone, where shootings occurred recently, even targeting the police. This is a provocation—an attempt to escalate tensions,” he added.
“These actions inspire far-right groups in Serbia, as they seek to portray the Serbian community in Kosovo as victims,” Gashi went on.
Kosovo has invested significantly in mechanisms to address such cases, including the Counter-Terrorism Strategy, aimed at tackling various forms of extremism.
“If there is incitement to interethnic incidents or tensions, the case should be handled by the Special Prosecution. This is a typical example of a crisis being ignored instead of addressed” Gashi concluded.
English version prepared by Ardita Zeqiri