Photographs released by the authorities reveal the identities of some of the individuals who were arrested.
These are two of the five Serbian suspects taken into custody by Kosovo authorities on suspicion of war crimes related to the Račak Massacre, specifically their alleged participation in the operation carried out on January 15, 1999.
Although the indictment in the “Račak II” case was filed in December of last year, investigations continued.
As a result of several months of work by the Special Prosecutor’s Office and the Kosovo Police, authorities succeeded in identifying and arresting individuals who served in Serbia’s special police units during the war.
“The Court approved our request, and in the early hours of this morning, together with the Police, we executed the Court’s order, during which we arrested five individuals. All of them are involved in the commission of the Račak Massacre,” said Special Prosecutor Ilir Morina.
The arrested individuals are identified as N.P., S.J., B.P., and S.N., residents of Štrpce, as well as S.S., a resident of Gjilan.
“The search warrant issued by the Special Department of the Basic Court in Prishtina obligated the Kosovo Police to conduct personal searches of the suspects and searches of the premises…,” stated Bashkim Spahija, Director of the War Crimes Investigation Directorate.
According to Special Prosecutor Morina, two video recordings were used during the identification process.
“One video recording was published by RTK and another by RTS. All of the individuals featured in both videos…,” Morina said.
The Director of the War Crimes Investigation Directorate, Bashkim Spahija, stated that a significant amount of evidence relevant to the case was seized during the operation, including €30,585, 438,190 Serbian dinars, and five U.S. dollars.
“One improvised firearm, various parts of police uniforms, a pair of handcuffs, a police baton, a traffic stop signaling device, 43 rounds of ammunition, and documents confirming their service with Serbia’s Ministry of Internal Affairs were seized,” Spahija explained.
The press conference also revealed that authorities carried out a search for another former Serbian police officer in Štrpce, identified by the initials S.J. However, they were unable to arrest him because he was not found at his place of residence.
