A Kosovan court has maintained the conviction of a Serb parliament member who claimed the 1999 massacre was fake.
In December 2019, the court deemed Ivan Todosijevic guilty of spreading ethnic hatred and sentenced him to two years in prison.
Todosijevic had denied the allegations that a massacre happened in the village of Račak during the Kosovo War.
He also said the ethnic independence fighters of Albany are “terrorists.”
A Pristina court convicted the Kosovan Serb ex-minister of inciting ethnic, national and racial hatred.
Prime Minister Ramush Haradinaj fired Todosijevic after the latter made his comments.
Despite pressure from Kosovan Serb politicians, Kosovo’s Court of Appeal upheld the conviction on Wednesday.
The head of the Serbian government’s office for Kosovo, Peter Petkovic, posted on Facebook that the ruling was “shameful.”
“The Pristina judiciary has caused incalculable damage to the reconciliation process in Kosovo,” Petkovic said.
“This scandalous decision, which is not based on either law or justice… is a verdict against every Serb who fights for the truth.” He added.
Massacre in Kosovo
The Serbian troops killed 45 Kosovo Albanians in the Račak massacre.
Consequently, NATO stepped in to end the war and the killings.
NATO launched a bombing campaign that lasted 78 days to end the 1998-1999 Slobodan Milosevic suppression.
The suppression was on ethnic Albanian independence fighters in Kosovo, which Serbia ruled at that time.
Serbia does not recognize Kosovo’s independence in 2008, as many Serbs still regard Kosovo as a part of their territories.
President of Serbia, Aleksandar Vučić, called the conviction of Todosijevic “frightening.”
“The state of Serbia will continue to provide all the necessary legal and any other assistance to Ivan Todosijevic,” Petkovic said on Facebook.
He added that only Pristina attacked Todosijevic, and “because he is a Serb and defends the truth.”
