The Serbian authorities are continuing to arrest citizens of Kosovo, under suspicion of committing war crimes in the late 90s.
The last person arrested is Tefik Mustafa, who was detained at the border point Merdare – between Kosovo and Serbia – on June 1.
At the same time, another citizen of Kosovo, Sadik Durak, has been detained for another 30 days. He was detained in Serbia on April 17 of this year.
Kosovo accuses Serbia of arbitrary arrests and demands the reaction of the QUINT countries and the European Union.
The Serbian institutions have not spoken to the media, and neither has the Prosecution for war crimes of Serbia, answered the question of Radio Free Europe, if there is a list of citizens of Kosovo – Albanians – who are suspected of war crimes.
REL has not received an answer to the question of whether Serbia exchanges judicial requests with Kosovo, in accordance with the Agreement for mutual legal assistance, through the EU.
In the annual report for 2023, the Fund for Humanitarian Law of Kosovo has mentioned the great need for cooperation between the special prosecutor’s offices of Kosovo and Serbia.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Kosovo has told Radio Free Europe that Kosovo, through the Liaison Office in Serbia, has requested that the reasons for the arrest of Tefik Mustafa be clarified.
The ministry has also called on the international community to take steps for his immediate release.
“At the same time, responsibility should be demanded from the Serbian state for these arbitrary and destructive actions, which contradict the international conventions on human rights”.
Neither the Ministry of Justice nor the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Belgrade responded to REL’s request for comment on these claims by the Kosovar authorities.
Earlier, the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Serbia said that Mustafa, as a member of the Kosovo Liberation Army, was mentioned in witness statements as a participant in the kidnapping of three Serbian policemen in Kosovo.
“After this act, the police have lost all traces”, it was said in that statement./REL
