Minister Selimi writes the letter EU, for release of Nezir Mehmetaj

Justice Minister Selim Selim Selimi has sent a letter to the Chief of the European Union Office in Kosovo, Natalia Apostolova, to use diplomatic power to convince Serbia to release Nezir Mehmetaj.

Mehmetaj is continuing to be held in one of Serbia's prisons, as Minister Selimi said Serbia is continuing to prevent fair judgments by abusing its Interpol membership privilege.

In his letter to the EU, Selimi said the justice ministry is ready to facilitate the transfer of procedures and address any legal assistance needed for this or other cases.

Full announcement;

Through a letter, I have called on the chief of the EU Office in Kosovo/EU Special Representative Natalia Apostolova, to use diplomatic power to convince Serbia's authorities to use the Jury Aid Agreement that has been signed among our countries with EU support, about the case of Nezir Mehmetaj being held in Serbia under false and politically motivated charges.

The letter has the following content:

Dear Ambassador Apostolova,

I am addressing this letter as a protest note on Serbia's disturbing developments and actions in arresting Kosovo citizens on false and politically motivated charges. I call for the EU Office in Kosovo to take the necessary actions to stop Serbia's continuing afflictions against our citizens with such illegal procedures that deny them their right to fair and impartial judgment.

The most recent case is that of Nezir Mehmetaj, who has been arrested and banned illegally since 3 January on charges of his membership in the Kosovo Liberation Army and murder charges allegedly occurred during the war in Kosovo. Although Mr. Mehmetaj is not the first, it is a very disturbing case in view of his continuing, even after numerous demands from our institutions and our liaison office in Belgrade.

Mr. Mehmetaj is being held illegally by a country that cannot guarantee him his right to a fair trial. This case, like many others before him, testifies that Serbia pursues a selective justice through which it dignifies our citizens on invalid charges while preventing the prosecution and punishment of its citizens on similar charges.

Based on reports from our representative office in Belgrade, who have followed the trial, Mr. Mehmetaj has already been rejected by even domestic institutions in Serbia. Serbia's Interior Ministry has already confirmed in the procedure that Mr. Mehmetaj is not the same person on whose basis claims for his KLA membership were built. Moreover, charges of murder have been dropped by a testimony taken in Germany, in which the sworn witness has confirmed that Mr. Mehmetaj is not the first person in the crime scene.

Despite that, Mr. Mehmetaj continues to be held by authorities in Serbia. In addition to the groundlessness of the charges against him, it is important that Mr. Mehmetaj is not a citizen of Serbia, there is no preliminary personal connection with Serbia and that he is accused of crimes committed on Kosovo territory, against Kosovo citizens. There is not enough link to his case with Serbia and, therefore, Serbia has no jurisdiction to hold criminal proceedings against it. For this reason, we call for the procedure to be transferred to Kosovo, both the only country with real and personal ties with both victims and the suspected author.

We call on you to use your diplomatic power to convince Serbia's authorities to use the very useful Agreement for helping to bring about the UN's signed UN co-operation agreement between our countries, with the support of the EU. This agreement has been used in more than six hundred cases already between our two countries, in pursuit of justice on both sides. We call for the Serbian prosecution to use these mechanisms to co-operate with the prosecution in Kosovo to transfer evidence and procedures to Kosovo, under EU relief. This is the only way to ensure that our citizens receive the necessary protection as they pass a fair and impartial judgment.

Furthermore, Serbia continues to prevent these fair judgments by abusing its own INTERPOL membership privilege and by issuing competitive warrants for Kosovo citizens worldwide, only to prevent Kosovo institutions from pursuing Kosovo. We have raised our objections to these shameful tactics in the past, which not only violates human rights but also prevents the introduction of justice by Kosovo institutions.

Our country's institutions, like those of the EU, are committed to guarantee the highest degree of human rights protection throughout all procedures, for any established charge. History has proved that Serbia has not been able to secure such guarantees in many criminal procedures, the less in those involving war crimes, which is evidenced by the particularly low number of sentences of its citizens for Kosovo crimes and other wars in the region. For these reasons the EU and other institutions have always been active in promoting Serbian institutions to co-operate with the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia and now its monitoring mechanisms. On the other hand, Kosovo's justice institutions have consistently worked with international prosecution mechanisms within the country or abroad, resulting in sentences of many of its citizens. The institutional framework in Kosovo, through Special Prosecutor and specialised units for war crimes, and the excellent legal framework are the best safeguard clauses for any indicted defendants in Kosovo to allow the dominance of justice. The Ministry of Justice, through its Department for International Co-operation, is ready and prepared to facilitate the transfer of these procedures and address any legal assistance necessary for this or other cases.

Therefore, we call on you to exercise your diplomatic power not to allow this prosecution of selective justice from Serbia. The EU has often expressed its frustrations at moments when it believed that in our countries or become injustice. This case should be one of them.