French-Serbian humanitarian prevented from entering Kosovo

And this ban without any explanation and any time limit, Gouillon added.

Media reports said earlier in the day that members of the Kosovo police had stated that according to their view, Gouillon "had no permit to visit" the self-proclaimed state.

Gouillon spoke for B92.net on his way back to central Serbia - after failing to enter Kosovo, where he was due to attend the opening of a poultry farm belonging to a soup kitchen of the Serbian Orthodox Church's Raska-Prizren Diocese in the Serb village of Prekovce, near Novo Brdo.

"They banned me from entering Kosovo and Metohija after I showed them my Serbian ID card while trying to enter. They said to get out of the car, and a customs officer told a policeman to bring me in and handcuff me. That policeman was a Serb and did not put me in handcuffs, but they took me to some room, searched both me and the car, for a total of three hours. They also sent a team of Pristina security forces to question me as if I were a criminal - why was I going, where was I going, whom was I helping, which organization I represented - and I have been doing this for 14 years, I go to Kosovo and Metohija and publish everything we are doing both in French and in Serbian," he said.

Gouillon added that the likely reason he was held today was the desire to intimidate him.

"They handed me a ban on entering Kosmet (Kosovo and Metohija) without any explanation, without a time limit... They also brought into question the help that we provide to the Serb people. As a humanitarian organization, we control the whole chain, from fundraising in France, to the final destination, monitor what we have invested the money in, know who we are helping and who is receiving it. The ban on entering Kosmet puts our...