The Basic Court in Mitrovica has extended the pre-trial detention of former Serbian Ministry of Internal Affairs (MUP) officer V.M. for another 30 days as part of an ongoing investigation into the alleged kidnapping and shooting of Kosovo Serb Milan Vukashinović.
Court spokesperson Hateme Haxhaj confirmed that the detention measure has been extended until August 16, 2026.
“Pre-trial detention for the defendant V.M. has been extended until August 16, 2026,” Haxhaj said.
The latest ruling means the suspect will have spent seven months in pre-trial detention.
V.M. was arrested by the Kosovo Police on suspicion of involvement in the kidnapping of Vukashinović, a Kosovo citizen of Serbian ethnicity who authorities allege was abducted and seriously wounded by members of the Serbian Gendarmerie inside Kosovo territory near Leposaviq on November 1, 2025.
Kosovo Interior Minister Xhelal Sveçla announced the arrest on December 20, 2025, stating that it was carried out in a joint operation involving the Kosovo Police and the Kosovo Intelligence Agency (AKI) in the village of Leshak.
According to Sveçla, the suspect had previously been integrated into the Kosovo Police under the 2013 Brussels Agreement before later resigning from the force.
The minister alleged that V.M. continued cooperating with Serbian security structures and was involved in supporting the alleged kidnapping of Vukashinović, who was seriously injured during the incident.
Sveçla also claimed that investigators suspect Vukashinović himself had maintained contacts with Serbian intelligence and military structures, helped recruit young Kosovo Serbs for military training in cooperation with members of the Serbian Army, and possessed prior knowledge of preparations for the September 2023 attack in Banjska.
Following a court order, Kosovo Police searched the suspect’s home and adjacent buildings, seizing nine mobile phones, a laptop, several documents, a hunting rifle with 39 rounds of ammunition, an ammunition vest and a gun barrel as part of the investigation.
The case remains under investigation, and the allegations against the suspect have yet to be tested in court.
