Fetoshi: The decoration for Marinković shows that Serbia is elevating crime to the altar

Arben Fetoshi, director of the Octopus Institute, reacted after former Serbian investigative judge Danica Marinković was decorated by the Serbian Orthodox Church, describing the act as a continuation of the policy pursued by the regime of former Serbian president Slobodan Milošević.

In a Facebook post, he said that even 27 years after NATO’s intervention in Kosovo, Serbia continues to refuse to accept responsibility for war crimes and, according to him, is turning into heroes the people who were involved in that policy.

Fetoshi underlined that Marinković’s decoration with the Order of Saint Sava by Patriarch Porfirije, together with the heroization of Milan Radoičić by Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić, are not isolated episodes, but part of a strategy to lend legitimacy to the Serbian narrative about the war in Kosovo.

According to him, Marinković, whom he describes as a person who “legalized” war crimes and falsified the truth about the Reçak massacre, was honored as a “servant of truth and justice,” while Serbian authorities are presenting this as a defense of Serbian victims.

He believes these developments demonstrate the continuity of the policy of violence and the role the Serbian Orthodox Church plays in legitimizing it, adding that Marinković’s decoration “sacralizes Serbia’s genocidal legacy,” while the heroization of Radoičić “legitimizes the continuation of violence for the purposes of hegemonistic policy.”

In conclusion, Fetoshi called for Serbia to be continually denounced in international decision-making centers, including Washington, Brussels and London, as well as in Tirana, Skopje and Podgorica.