Today, the Special Prosecution Office of the Republic of Kosovo announced that it has submitted a request to the Basic Court in Pristina, Special Department, for the detention of nine people arrested as part of this operation.
According to the Prosecution, the nine suspects, identified by the initials D.D., M.R., M.R., R.R., S.D., S.D., V.L., R.R. and D.D., are suspected of participating in the killing and disappearance of 23 civilians in Zubin-Potok.
The operation, codenamed “Case 23,” was carried out by investigators from the Directorate for the Investigation of War Crimes, with the support of other units of the Kosovo Police, while search warrants were executed at several locations in the municipality of Zubin-Potok.
Sinjali reported yesterday that among those arrested are Milan Đurić, Radisav Rašković, Petar Utvić, Dragan Đurić, Vukadin Lepović, Jovica Mutavdžić, Svetislav Đukić, Miroslav Radojević and Miloš Rašković, who are suspected of committing the criminal offense of “War Crimes against the Civilian Population.”
As reported by Sinjali, the operation was authorized by the Special Prosecution Office and the raids were carried out based on orders issued by the Basic Court in Pristina – Special Department.
During the searches, according to data made public by the authorities, nine mobile phones, two military booklets, one long firearm, one hunting rifle, ammunition of various calibers and four shells were seized.
In addition, around €23,000 in cash, approximately 60,000 Serbian dinars, and other materials considered relevant to the investigation were seized.
Sinjali had reported that the investigation concerns a serious case involving the killing of civilians and locations where the mortal remains of people killed during the war are suspected to have been found.
The Special Prosecution Office announced that the request for detention was submitted based on evidence and information collected during the investigative proceedings up to this stage.
The investigation will continue, while the Prosecution has emphasized that it will respect the rights of all persons involved in the proceedings and the confidentiality of information that cannot be made public at this stage.
The suspects are presumed innocent until a final court decision is reached.
