Kosovo’s Deputy Police Director, Dejan Janković, remains in pre-trial detention in Serbia, while four other arrested police officers were released on Thursday. Prime Minister Kurti said Serbia’s actions are a consequence of the lack of sanctions for its behavior towards Kosovo. He described Serbia as a mafia state, led by a chief mafia president.
At the 200th Government meeting and subsequent press conference on Thursday, Kosovo’s Prime Minister, Albin Kurti, spoke about Serbia’s retaliation by blocking buses with Kosovo residents transiting through the country.
During the meeting, Kurti announced that four police officers arrested on Wednesday were released, while Deputy Police Director Dejan Janković remains in pre-trial detention.
According to Kurti, the fact that there are no sanctions for Serbia’s actions towards Kosovo emboldens the government in Belgrade to take such actions.
He characterized Serbia as a mafia state.
“The arrests made by Serbia, whether of ordinary citizens using it as a transit country to EU countries or state officials, would not be happening if there were sanctions. The lack of sanctions has emboldened Serbia, and I hope that this emboldening of aggression resulting from its internal unease due to our state’s successes represents a new stage in which it will be understood that Kosovo is a democratic state, respects the rights of its citizens, while Serbia is essentially a mafia state. I believe that Brussels officials will have seen President Vučić’s conference at the military barracks in Belgrade last Saturday, precisely when 10 months had passed since the abduction of our police officers, as well as on the anniversary of the ‘Kobra’ unit, the unit that abducted our police officers. A mafia state, where the chief mafia is the most public figure there, is the president,” said Kurti.
Interior Minister Xhelal Sveçla, in a joint press conference with Kurti, stated that a total of 10 police officers were detained on Wednesday, of whom 5 were released on the same day, and four a day later.
“The fact that the Deputy General Director of the Kosovo Police has been arrested and transferred to Raška should be a cause for alarm for everyone. It is not only severe abuse by Serbia, but Vučić, through Janković’s arrest and detention, aims to send a clear message of intimidation to Kosovo Serbs who are integrated or want to integrate into the Kosovo Police,” said Sveçla.
According to institutions in Kosovo, the mistreatment of Kosovo citizens transiting through Serbia was done “as a sign of retaliation” after the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe supported Kosovo’s membership in this organization on April 16.
The government in Belgrade justified the detention of Kosovo’s Deputy Police Director, Janković, as “disruption of Serbia’s constitutional order”.
In fact, shortly after the vote in the Council of Europe, on Tuesday evening, Serbian authorities stopped several buses with hundreds of Kosovo citizens at the Croatia-Serbia border. After taking their documents, they detained them for nearly 24 hours. There were also stops for Kosovar citizens at Serbian border crossings with Hungary, as well as with Kosovo.
For these detentions, on Thursday afternoon, President Vjosa Osmani met with the US Ambassador, Jeffrey Hovenier.
They also discussed Kosovo’s accession process to the Council of Europe, where the final voting phase is in May.
“The meeting also discussed Kosovo’s accession process to the Council of Europe and the preparations underway for the voting process to be held this weekend in the northern part of the country,” the statement said.
