Osman Selmani has been released from detention in Serbia after spending weeks in custody following his arrest by Serbian authorities in July.
The news was announced by his daughter, Florie Selmani, who said the family reunited with him on September 21 at the Merdare border crossing.
“With great joy and gratitude to God, we inform you that today, September 21, 2026, our father, Osman Selmani, has been released from detention in Belgrade. We have just met our father at the Merdare border crossing. After so many days of anxiety, longing and waiting, this is one of the happiest moments for our family,” she wrote.
Selmani was arrested at the Mutivodë border crossing while entering Serbia and was suspected by Serbian authorities of “war crimes.”
Serbia alleged that on June 14, 1999, in the Sofalia neighborhood of Prishtina, Selmani, allegedly acting together with several members of the Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA), was involved in the killing of Vladimir and Persa Stanisavljević.
Selmani’s family rejected the allegations, saying that at the time of the alleged crime, the entire family was in North Macedonia after being expelled from Kosovo by Serbian forces.
Following his arrest, Kosovo’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Diaspora said that the Liaison Office of the Republic of Kosovo in Serbia had immediately informed the diplomatic missions of the Quint countries accredited in Belgrade, as well as the European Union Delegation in Serbia, about Selmani’s arrest and the proceedings initiated against him by Serbian authorities.
The ministry has repeatedly urged Kosovo citizens to avoid travelling through Serbia because of the risk of arrests and legal proceedings initiated by Serbian authorities over alleged wartime offenses.
