PRISHTINA, July 16 /ATA/ – Kosovo’s acting Justice Minister Donika Gërvalla said on Thursday she had filed a criminal complaint against Serbian minister Snezhana Paunović over comments she said amounted to the justification of ethnic cleansing in Kosovo.
In a statement posted on social media, Gërvalla said she had asked the Office of the State Chief Prosecutor to launch an investigation and, if warranted, proceed with an indictment and seek a court-imposed sentence.
“Public statements that seek to justify ethnic cleansing and the expulsion of an entire people cannot be treated as ordinary political rhetoric. They carry profound historical, legal and human consequences,” Gërvalla said.
She added that Kosovo “will never bow to hate speech or narratives aimed at undermining peace, security and interethnic coexistence.”
According to Gërvalla, Paunović said in an interview with Serbian media outlet Kurir on July 12: “If I had been Slobodan Milošević, I would have carried out the ethnic cleansing of Kosovo in 1998.”
Following the remarks, Kosovo’s acting Interior Minister Xhelal Sveçla declared Paunović persona non grata, permanently banning her from entering or transiting through Kosovo.
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