Igor Popović Unlawfully Detained – Serbia Demands His Immediate Release

25. Jul 2025.
Igor Popović, Assistant Director of the Office for Kosovo and Metohija of the Government of the Republic of Serbia, has been detained in the so-called Kosovo after attending, in his official capacity, a memorial event dedicated to Serbian civilian victims in Orahovac.

His offense was publicly recalling the murder of 47 Serbs and Roma and the abduction of more than 100 civilians in July 1998 — a crime for which proceedings are already underway in The Hague against former leaders of the so-called KLA

A statement by the so-called Kosovo's Minister of Internal Affairs, Xhelal Sveçla, that “insults and desecration of our history will not be tolerated,” serves as a direct and unacceptable admission that the arrest was carried out solely in response to a publicly expressed opinion and a reference to documented war crimes.

Under the regime of Albin Kurti, commemorating the suffering of Serbian victims has become grounds for criminal prosecution. Politically motivated arrests, institutional repression, and systematic violations of the basic rights of Serbs in Kosovo and Metohija continue with increasing intensity.

We demand the immediate release of Igor Popović and call on the international community to unequivocally condemn this act and take concrete steps to protect the fundamental human rights of the Serbian population in the Province.