Prishtinë, 26 August 2022

Kosovo Police (KP) according to official duty and foreseen strategic objectives, is continuing its engagement in providing security, maintaining order and public security and undertaking the police measures with the aim of preventing all the criminal activities in the country.

Kosovo Police as a law enforcement institution treats all the cases by the legal procedures, where amongst the others, it gives special priority to the treatment of hate crime cases, possible inter-ethnic cases as well as religious cultural heritage (RCH)

It is the principle of Kosovo Police to provide security, protect the rights of all individuals regardless of their race, faith, ethnicity, sexual orientation, gender or disability. Any act or threat of violence, damage to property, disturbance, threats, or other crimes motivated by hate or anime to violate these rights, are analysed with high seriousness by acting and engaging all the necessary police services as well as undertaking law enforcement measures to identify and arrest the perpetrators of the crime.

Since 2008, Kosovo Police, with physical security 24/7, guards and protects 24 objects of the Orthodox cult, mainly churches and monasteries, while in various operational ways it takes care of security and protection for about 170 other Orthodox objects. The objects protected 24/7, since March 2013 have been under the supervision of the police unit established exclusively for the security of objects of cultural and religious heritage (NJSOTKF).

As a result of the police work and engagement, the possible cases with inter-ethnic motives, amongst years remarkably have been decreased and if compared with the overall number of cases in the period January – June of 20122, there have been evidenced only (4) possible inter-ethnic cases or (0.01%) of the overall number of cases in the country level.

FOLLOWING ARE THE DATA FOR THE POSSIBLE INTER-ETHNIC CASES

Time period January-June 2021 January-June 2022 %

Inter-ethnic 5 4 -20%

According to reports during the period January – June 2022, the possible inter-ethnic cases are against:

• 1 1 case, damage of the Turkish flag;

• 1 case, graffiti writing in Serbian language

• 2 cases have happened in Gazimestan against Albanians

Also, as a result of police work and commitments, the cases in Religious Cultural Heritage (TKF) have decreased, compared to the period January-June 2022 with that of the previous year, (48) cases were recorded in TKF, of which (30) cases or 62.5% of these cases occurred in Muslim facilities, while only (18) cases or 37.5% of them occurred in Orthodox ones.

Compared with the overall number of case for the period January – June, in orthodox TKF have been evidenced 18 cases or 0.08% of cases in general on country level.

FOLLOWING ARE THE DATA FOR THE CASES IN TKF

Time period January – June 2021 January – June 2022 %

Cases in TKF 51 48 -5.88

Out of a total of 48 cases of this six-month period, 37 cases or 77% of them are related to theft, aggravated theft and attempted theft, while 11 cases or 23% are related to threats, destruction or damage to property and damage to cemeteries or corpses.

Referring the official statistics, it turns out that 77% of the cases are not in the TKF, but happened in the TKF or within the fences of the TKF, where the purpose was the financial gain

Kosovo Police, through the reflection of official statistics of recorded cases, informs the public about its commitments and dedication in providing security to all citizens without distinction, as well as the preservation of public and private property.

We also inform all the interested individuals who know more about the possible cases of hate crimes and religious cultural heritage, to contact Kosovo Police and the State Prosecutor’s Office, as these institutions are mandated to handle all cases of such nature as well as have designated special coordinators and police-investigative officers in each police station, who are responsible for handling, analysing and processing statistics on cases of hate crimes.

KP has also issued instructions regarding the treatment and investigation of hate crime cases, and for years it has been implementing the “Cult” operational plan, which is implemented at the country level, with the aim of providing security, carrying out visits to religious facilities, cemeteries, etc., to provide security and prevent any possible cases

Kosovo Police with its police units will continue to carry out police tasks and authorizations conform the legal procedures, in serving the country and all citizens regardless, therefore the reference to any other non-competent and non-professional addressing for information of this nature, may lead to misinformation of the public.