“Release Sadik Duraku from unlawful detention.” This is the call being made through a petition initiated by the family of the Kosovar who was arrested on Wednesday by Serbian authorities at the Croatia-Serbia border crossing in Batrovci.
Duraku, who lived in Brighton and holds British citizenship, was later assigned one month of pretrial detention by a Serbian court on suspicion of “committing war crimes.”
His daughter, Suzana Duraku, in the petition initiated, has sought the help of the United Kingdom to secure her father’s release, as reported by Gazeta Express.
“He is being held on false claims that he was part of the Kosovo Liberation Army, KLA, in 1999. Their claims allege that he committed war crimes during the alleged time in 1999,” the petition reads, stating that in 1998 he and his family were seeking asylum in the United Kingdom.
“The asylum process means we could not leave the UK until 2004,” writes the daughter.
At this critical moment, Sadik Duraku’s family is seeking “tangible evidence to refute these unfounded accusations” and say they need support to secure an observer in Serbia to ensure proper procedures and his safety in prison.
“Therefore, documenting our asylum requests and movements within the UK from 1998 to 1999 is crucial. The British Home Office must have this information and, together with the British Embassy, should be able to engage an observer,” the petition states.
“What we also need is pressure from the UK to release my father,” writes Suzana Duraku.
Regarding Sadik Duraku, his daughter says he is “suffering from heart disease.”
“He had a heart attack in 2021 and suffered a cardiac arrest. To this day, he still suffers from this heart attack and has a leaking valve and high blood pressure. We are concerned that stress and conditions will worsen his condition,” writes the family in the initiated petition.
The family is afraid of what will happen to their relative as they seek to pressure the government “to intervene to ensure his safety while he is there and to help bring him home.”
“Sign this petition. Share our call in your circles and social platforms, tagging Peter Kyle, the British Embassy, and the British Home Office. Every signature and awareness we can raise helps,” the family writes among other things.
In the early hours of Wednesday, Serbia detained dozens of buses with around 1,500 Kosovars for more than 20 hours at its border points with Croatia and Hungary.”
