Sadik Durak from the village of Demjan in Gjakova has been ordered to be detained for 30 days by the High Court for War Crimes in Belgrade, under the suspicion that he committed war crimes during 1999 in Kosovo. Durak, who is also a British citizen, was arrested on Wednesday, during an action by the Serbian police at the Croatia-Serbia border crossing, Batrovci. In addition to him, several other people were also detained that day, including several police officers.
The High Court for War Crimes in Belgrade has sentenced Sadik Durak from the village of Demjan i Gjakova to one month of detention. According to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the decision was made today, as the War Crimes Prosecution in Belgrade is claiming that Durak committed war crimes.
He was arrested on Wednesday at the Croatia-Serbia border.
“According to the notice received by the defense lawyer and the family members of Mr. Sadik Duraku, a citizen of the Republic of Kosovo, from the village of Damjan, Gjakova Municipality, (who also has Great Britain citizenship), was arrested on April 17, 2024, at the Croatia-Serbia Border Crossing, in Batrovci. Has he been returning to the Republic of Kosovo with his personal car. After the arrest, Mr. Duraku was informed by the Serbian authorities that he is charged with the allegations of committing war crimes during the war in Kosovo in 1999, where he was then sent to Belgrade to be detained for another 48 hours, in the Detention Center of the Supreme Court for Crimes War in Belgrade. The High Prosecution for War Crimes of Belgrade has raised allegations of committing war crimes against him”, says the response of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Furthermore, they say that Duraku is not in a good state of health according to the notification from the family members.
“Mr. Duraku, today, Friday, April 19, 2024, at 9:00 a.m. appeared before the judge of the preliminary procedure of the High Court for War Crimes in Belgrade. According to the defense lawyer, the Court made a decision by which he was sentenced to 30 days of detention. The relatives of Mr. Duraku has emphasized that he is in a bad state of health and the defense lawyer has confirmed that he was given appropriate therapy by the prison authorities during his detention”, says the MFA’s response to the newspaper.
Already, Ambassador Jetish Jashari has asked the Serbian authorities to provide explanations for Durak’s arrest.
His request was also to allow the visit, while he also contacted QUINT
“Meanwhile, Ambassador Jashari has sent an official request to the Liaison Office of Serbia in Kosovo to receive information about the reasons for the arrest of Mr. Duraku, as well as providing other relevant relevant details. Ambassador Jashari has also communicated with the diplomatic missions of the Quint countries accredited in Serbia, which he informed about the case. Ambassador Jashari has also made an official request to the Serbian authorities for permission for his visit, which is expected to be realized in the following days”, the MFA told Express.
In addition to Durak, hundreds of Kosovo citizens who were crossing from Serbia were stopped on Wednesday at the border crossing point between Croatia and Serbia and that of Serbia and Hungary. The documents were taken from them and for more than 15 hours they were not returned.
The Serbian state detained several citizens, including police officers. Even the deputy director of the Kosovo Police, Dejan Jankovic, was sent to Raskë for detention.
For this action of Serbia, there were many reactions, including from the international community.
This whole event was seen as Serbia’s revenge for the vote for Kosovo’s membership in the Council of Europe by the Parliamentary Assembly of this institution.
