The Ambassador of Italy in Kosovo, Nicola Orlando has called the attack on the son of a Kosovo Serbian politician “politically motivated”.
“I join the unreserved condemnation of the politically motivated aggression against the son of the Leader of the Progressive Democratic Party, Nenad Rasic, an attack on democracy itself,” Orlando wrote on Twitter.
“Violence must be firmly rejected by all and punished by the appropriate institutions,” he added.
Rasic’s son, 18-year-old Nikola Rasic, was attacked and beaten up by a group of people in Gracanica on Monday.
Kosovo Police announced that seven people have been arrested and that the Prosector decided to keep them in custody. Police said that the teenager suffered injuries and was taken to the hospital for treatment. The reason for the attack remains unknown.
Nenad Rakic is the leader of the Progressive Democratic Party, a Serb party competing for votes with the Belgrade-backed Serb List party, who occupies all ten parliamentary seats reserved for the Serb minority in Kosovo. He is a critic of Belgrade’s influence in elections in favor of the Serb List.
Acting President Vjosa Osmani, Prime Minister-in-Waiting Albin Kurti, and UK Ambassador to Kosovo Nicholas Abbott condemned the attack and urged the police to find those responsible as soon as possible.
Kurti suggested the attack was related to Nikola’s father’s resistance against “pressure and threats” by Belgrade. Rasic was Kurti’s advisor when he was Prime Minister last year.
The Serb List party was also quick to condemn the attack, adding that it shouldn’t be used for political gains.
