MPJD reports that this afternoon, the Liaison Office of the Republic of Kosovo in Serbia was informed about the arrest of the citizen of the Republic of Kosovo, Tefik Mustafa, by the Serbian authorities in Merdare, on charges of alleged war crimes against the non-Albanian population during the Kosovo war in 1999.
“Regarding this case, the Liaison Office of the Republic of Kosovo in Serbia has immediately informed the diplomatic missions of the United States and the United Kingdom and other states in Belgrade, and has sent an official request to the Liaison Office of Serbia in Kosovo for confirmation of the arrest and for the provision of other relevant details, which also includes the Delegation of the European Union in Serbia,” the MPJD statement said.
MPJD says it will submit an official request to the Serbian authorities to allow Ambassador Jashari to visit Tefik Mustafa, so that the state and the Government of the Republic of Kosovo can be more specifically informed about the treatment he is receiving from the Serbian authorities.
“The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Diaspora strongly condemns the detention, arrest, and mistreatment of the citizens of the Republic of Kosovo and at the same time calls on the International Community to take concrete steps for the immediate release of Mr. Tefik Mustafa and simultaneously to hold the Serbian state accountable for these arbitrary and destructive actions that are contrary to international conventions on human rights,” the statement said.
MPJD says it has informed the QUINT states in Kosovo about this arrest and will keep the public informed about this case, and will notify them promptly of any new information.
MPJD urges all citizens who may face various difficulties during their travels through Serbia to contact us at the phone number: +383 46 51 00 51.
Otherwise, Serbian authorities announced on Saturday that they had arrested a Kosovar at the border point linking Serbia with Kosovo, under suspicion of “war crimes.”
The Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Internal Affairs of Serbia (MPB), Ivica Dačić, said that Tefik Mustafa was arrested on the afternoon of June 1st in Merdare for “war crimes against civilians in Kosovo.”
In a media statement, the Serbian MPB emphasized that Mustafa, “as a member of the KLA [Kosovo Liberation Army], was mentioned in witness statements as participating in the kidnapping of policemen Goran Marinković, Zhivojin Pavić, and Predrag Milošević, on June 19, 1999, on the Pristina – Gjilan road, whose whereabouts are unknown.”
“The person will be handed over to the War Crimes Prosecutor’s Office,” Dačić said, according to the statement.
In the last three years, several citizens of Kosovo have been arrested in Serbia on suspicions of alleged crimes committed during the Kosovo war in 1998-99.
