PRISTINA -- Kosovo police have detained a leader of a small Shi'ite community in the Balkan country’s southwest after she praised in media posts a top Iranian general killed in a U.S. air strike last week.
Ikballe Huduti-Berisha was detained on January 7 following an order from the prosecution and will remain in custody for 48 hours awaiting a court decision, police spokesman Daut Hoxha told RFE/RL.
He did not say what Huduti-Berisha, a resident of the city of Prizren, was suspected of.
In a series of posts on her Facebook account, she had criticized the United States over the killing of Major General Qasem Soleimani, whom she described as a "great man."
The January 3 assassination of the commander of Iran's elite Quds Force has raised fears of a conflict between the United States and Iran.
Kosovo President Hashim Thaci and outgoing Prime Minister Ramush Haradinaj have expressed support for the U.S. move.
"I strongly support #US reaction against Iran's activities in the Middle East that have caused terror, instability and global concern. We stand together in protecting our values and our way of life and in search of peace and security," Thaci tweeted.
Haradinaj wrote in a Facebook post that the U.S. drone strike was a measure of "self-defense" aimed at protecting "freedom and democracy."
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RFE/RL's Balkan Service
In 2019, RFE/RL's Balkan Service marked 25 years of reporting in one of the world’s most contested regions, championing professionalism and moderation in a media landscape that is sharply divided along ethnic and partisan lines.
