The route that many citizens of Kosovo are taking to travel through Serbia is proving to be increasingly unsafe.
Several citizens of Kosovo remain imprisoned in Serbian jails after being arrested while crossing the border. According to the Organization of War Veterans of the KLA (OVL-UÇK), these arrests are being carried out with the aim of tarnishing the war of the Kosovo Liberation Army.
Since August 2025, Behar Preniqi has remained imprisoned in Serbia.
He was arrested by Serbian authorities while crossing the border between Croatia and Serbia at the Batrovci border crossing.
But Preniqi is not the only Kosovo citizen behind bars in Serbia.
In July 2026, Osman Selmani was arrested at the Mitrovoda border crossing while returning from his hometown. Meanwhile, on August 2 of this year, Mentor Mustafa was detained at the border between Serbia and Hungary.
According to Serbian authorities, all of them are accused of alleged war crimes against the civilian population. These allegations have been denied by their family members.
The Organization of War Veterans of the KLA says that all these arrests of Albanians by Serbia are being carried out with a specific purpose.
“The idea is to tarnish our liberation war, to create a narrative that criminalizes our just and liberation war. Therefore, for us, this is nothing new. We are used to this approach by Serbia. People need to be careful and avoid traveling through Serbia, because the consequences can be so serious that there may be no one able to return them. The state itself is powerless in dealing with these incidents. The international community must put pressure on Serbia to stop doing such things,” said Gazmend Syla.
The Council for the Protection of Human Rights and Freedoms has also called on citizens to avoid traveling through Serbia, warning that such arrests can have serious consequences.
“All these arrests, followed by all these releases, are costly, both materially and politically. When Serbia arrests a Kosovo Albanian, it demands certain concessions. For the parties involved, it becomes a deal made behind the scenes, one that we do not see,” said Behgjet Shala.
The Humanitarian Law Center has also urged caution.
“We are seeing that, from time to time, citizens of Kosovo are being arrested while crossing the border through Serbia. Certainly, they need to be careful, especially those who were involved in the last war and who were members of the Kosovo Liberation Army, in order to avoid such detentions,” said Amer Alija.
He also pointed to the recent filing of indictments in absentia against individuals who were involved in the war.
“This is because recently we have been seeing that, both in Serbia and in Kosovo, indictments in absentia have begun to be filed against members who took part in the war, whether against Serbian forces or against KLA soldiers,” Alija added.
On Friday, after nearly a month in detention, Dukagjin Maxhuni was released. He had been arrested on August 12 of this year.
In previous months, Mithat Lozhani and Hazir Haziri were also released from Serbian prisons.
Nevertheless, the continued arrests of Kosovo citizens while traveling through Serbia have renewed concerns about their safety and prompted calls for people to avoid traveling through Serbian territory, particularly those who were involved in the last war in Kosovo.
