Kuçi rejects persecution accusations: Kosovo Police protect around 170 Orthodox sites, Serbia continues disinformation campaign

According to Gurakuç Kuçi, professor at Universum College and external collaborator at ISLH “OCTOPUS”, accusations of persecution of the Serbian Orthodox community in Kosovo are unfounded. He has shown that law enforcement institutions provide comprehensive protection for a large number of religious sites.

Specifically, police authorities continuously patrol around 170 Orthodox sites, overseeing churches, cemeteries, and surrounding areas. Of these, 24 churches and monasteries enjoy uninterrupted physical guard, 24 hours a day, seven days a week. More than 40 sites are included in Special Protective Zones, where restrictions are placed on construction, industry, and other activities that could harm their tranquility, functioning, or historical value. The enforcement of these rules is also monitored by a special Council, with participation from Kosovo institutions, the Serbian Orthodox Church, and international partners. Kuçi specified that an exceptional case is the Deçan Monastery, where the primary security responsibility belongs to KFOR.

Since 2013, the Unit for the Security of Cultural and Religious Heritage Objects has existed, dedicated precisely to these assets with special emphasis on Orthodox ones. Kuçi underscored that any act of damage, vandalism, theft, or desecration is treated as a criminal offense and, when an ethnic or religious motive is identified, classified as a hate crime. In every police station, designated persons are assigned to record and investigate these incidents in coordination with prosecutors.

During Orthodox celebrations and pilgrimages, authorities draft detailed operational plans that ensure the smooth conduct of activities, protect participants, manage traffic, and prevent incidents. According to him, this system constitutes a unique model in Europe, yet the Serbian narrative continues to use propaganda to justify tensions and prepare ground for crisis escalations.

Referring to the liturgy on July 26 at the Monastery of the Holy Archangels near Prizren, Kuçi stressed that the Kosovo Police enabled the event to proceed without incidents, but propaganda turned the security presence into an image of pressure on worshippers. He describes this as a psychological operation where reality is distorted: protective measures are presented as siege, control as violence, and police presence as persecution. This semantic inversion aims to delegitimize Kosovo and incite hatred, both domestically and in international opinion. Kuçi warns that in confronting hybrid warfare, concrete security actions must be accompanied by strategic communication, because empty information spaces are filled by the adversary with pre-fabricated fabrications.