Diocese of Raška and Prizren on the Arrest of Several Serbs in Prizren

Following reports that 16 individuals from central Serbia were detained today in an operation conducted by the Kosovo Police—and in light of the fact that several of the detainees spent the previous night in the guest quarters of the Theological Seminary in Prizren—the Diocese of Raška and Prizren finds it necessary to clarify the following:

• No individuals were detained today at the SOC Seminary of Saints Cyril and Methodius in Prizren. The Kosovo Police did not enter the premises of this ecclesiastical institution, nor did they make contact with any of its representatives.

• During the day, the Diocese learned from media sources that several ethnic Serbs had been detained, including 12 individuals in Prizren, who had spent the previous night in the guest wing of the Seminary.

• Our monasteries, pilgrimage centers, and the Seminary itself regularly host visitors and pilgrims who come to Kosovo and Metohija to attend religious services and Church events. Naturally, the Church cannot have detailed knowledge of each visitor, as all those entering Kosovo from central Serbia do so through legally regulated administrative crossings, under the control of the Kosovo Police, and in accordance with existing laws, which guarantee the right to freedom of movement and religious participation.

• Among those who spent the night in the Seminary, only two individuals—according to the Diocese’s information—are reportedly under suspicion by Kosovo authorities for alleged prohibited activities. These individuals were not personally known to the clergy or the Seminary staff and, like other pilgrims, stayed overnight before attending the Divine Liturgy at the Cathedral in Prizren. They were subsequently detained in the city, outside the Seminary grounds.

• Any suggestion that these individuals used a “religious institution for cover and to incite interethnic and religious tensions in Kosovo,” as stated in today’s release by the Kosovo Police, is completely unfounded, irresponsible, and not based on factual evidence.

SOC Diocese of Raška and Prizren
April 6, 2025