Igor Popoviq has been found guilty and sentenced by the Basic Court in Prishtina to a fine of 3,000 euros and an additional measure of deportation from the territory of Kosovo for a period of two years, following a plea agreement with the Special Prosecutor’s Office of the Republic of Kosovo.
According to the indictment filed on August 4, 2025, by the Special Prosecutor’s Office, Igor Popoviq, assistant director in the so-called Office for Kosovo in the Government of Serbia, intentionally and with purpose publicly incited hatred and intolerance among ethnic groups. Specifically, on July 18, 2025, around 12:00 PM in Rahovec, he gave a public speech addressed to a large gathering of citizens, during which he used language with inciting and hateful content.
The presiding judge, Kujtim Krasniqi, stated that the accused Igor Popoviq was found guilty of the criminal offense of “incitement of division and intolerance” under Article 141, paragraph 1 of the Penal Code of the Republic of Kosovo.
According to him, the court, in accordance with criminal and procedural provisions, sentenced Popoviq to 6 months imprisonment, a sentence which, with the consent of the accused, was replaced by a fine of 3,000 euros.
Krasniqi added that the court also imposed an additional penalty, the deportation of Popoviq from the territory of the Republic of Kosovo and “The accused Igor Popoviq, as per personal notes in the case file, is guilty of the criminal offense of incitement of division and intolerance under Article 141, paragraph 1 of the Penal Code of the Republic of Kosovo. Therefore, the court, pursuant to criminal and procedural provisions, sentences him to 6 months imprisonment, which, with the consent of the accused, is replaced by a fine of 3,000 euros… The time spent in pre-trial detention from July 18, 2025, to August 8, 2025, is counted towards the imposed prison sentence. Furthermore, the court imposes an additional penalty. The defendant Igor Popoviq is ordered deported from the territory of the Republic of Kosovo and banned from entry for two years,” said Krasniqi.
This morning, August 8, the Special Prosecutor’s Office proposed to the court to impose the same sentence on Popoviq, according to the agreement, for the criminal offense he was charged with, six months imprisonment, to be replaced by a fine of 3,000 euros.
Today, the case prosecutor, Fikrije Krasniqi-Zejnullahu, proposed to the court to also impose the additional sentence — deportation from Kosovo’s territory for a period of two years — to which both parties agreed.
Popoviq’s lawyer, Millosh Delliviq, stated that they stand behind the agreement reached with the Special Prosecutor’s Office. It should be recalled that Popoviq was arrested after delivering a speech in Hoça e Madhe in Rahovec, where he spoke against the Kosovo Liberation Army. The Prosecutor’s Office assessed that through these statements, Popoviq negatively influenced relations between communities, inciting distrust and interethnic tensions, thus endangering coexistence in Kosovar society the prohibition of his entry for a period of two years.
