In Leposaviq / Leposavic, Kosovo, a disturbing incident unfolded on the night between Saturday and Sunday 16-17 March 2024, as the vehicle belonging to Dušan Milanović, the owner of VIM Info and the founder of the Kosovo Online portal (https://www.kosovo-online.com/), was discovered burned. Kosovo Police were swiftly informed of the incident and have launched an investigation to find the perpetrators behind this malicious act.
The circumstances surrounding the burning of Milanović’s vehicle remain shrouded in mystery, prompting widespread speculations. The Kosovo Online editorial team has taken a cautious approach, refraining from drawing premature conclusions or linking the incident to Milanović’s professional activities. Instead, they are urging the competent authorities to conduct a comprehensive investigation to determine the motive behind the arson and bring those responsible to justice.
The gravity of the situation has not gone unnoticed, with concerns mounting over the safety and security of individuals involved in media and journalism within Kosovo.
According to Kosovo Online, Veton Elshani, the Deputy Commander of the Kosovo Police for the North Region, confirmed the incident, shedding light on the timeline of events. According to him, the police received a call in the early hours of the morning and reacted immediately. Upon arrival, they discovered Milanović’s vehicle engulfed in flames, with significant damage inflicted upon the engine.
Only a little more than two weeks ago, the car belonging to a local Serbian administrative staff member in Leposaviq / Leposavic, Radmila V., was also in the early morning hours set on fire.
Kosovo online portal is owned by VIM INFO d.o.o. from Zveçan /Zvečan in Kosovo. It has a registration by the Business Registration Agency of Kosovo (BRAK) in Pristina, Kosovo, from 26 July 2019. Business Registration Agency of Kosovo operates within the Ministry of Trade and Industry of Kosovo, It has also an registration by the Agency for Economic Registers (APR) of Serbia in Belgrade from 14 August 2019. Kosovo online is publishing news on Serbian, Albanian and English. More details about the registration of the VIM INFO company are online in the Kosovo Media Ownership Monitory published by the Balkan Investigative Reporting Network – BIRN in Kosovo: https://kosovo.mom-gmr.org/en/owner/companies/detail/company/company/show/vim-info-doo-1/
The South East Europe Media Organisation (SEEMO) is monitoring the case and is asking for a fast investigation to identify and prosecute the perpetrators responsible for this act.
South East Europe Media Organisation (SEEMO) is a regional non-governmental, non profit network of editors, media executives and leading journalists in Southeast, South, East and Central Europe. SEEMO members are in Albania, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Estonia, Georgia, Greece, Hungary, Kazakhstan, Kosovo, Kyrgyzstan, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Moldova (with the territory of Transdnestria), Montenegro, North Macedonia, Poland, Romania, Russia, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Türkiye / Turkey, Ukraine and Uzbekistan. Austria, Italy, Vatican and San Marino have a special status in SEEMO. SEEMO has over 3000 individual members, and additional media as corporate members.
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