Montenegro frees two war crimes suspects in Kosovo

Vuksanovic's release from custody was confirmed to Radio Free Europe from this court.

Vuksanovic was in custody on October 1st, pending his or her extradition decision to Kosovo.

Even though the Supreme Court decided on October 27th on Vuksanovic's extradition to Kosovo, that same day former Justice Minister Marko Kovac refused the extradition request.

The newspaper in Podgorica, Pobjeda, said Kovac argued with the assessment that “has doubts about political persecution”, arguing that Article 3 of the European Convention on Human Rights and Freedoms was violated.

After taking the decision on October 31st, the Supreme Court released Vuksanovic, who remained in extradition custody for a month.

That was former Prime Minister Kovac's second such decision in a seven-day period, as on October 26th he also refused the extradition of Momcilo Vukoqi, 61, to Kosovo. His extradition was requested because he was suspected of war crimes on Pec territory in 1999, confirmed for REL from the Justice Ministry.

And then Kovac referred to the European Convention on Human Rights.

Kovac made those decisions in the last week of his mandate in the government of Prime Minister Dritan Abazovic, the mandate that ended with the election of the Milloko Spajici government on October 31st, 2023.

Vukotic was arrested in Montenegro on 25 September at the order of INTERPOL issued by the United Nations Mission in Kosovo (UNMIK), based on the memorandum of understanding between INTERPOL and UNMIK in 2002, aimed at exchanging information, warrants, international investigations and criminal cases.

Prior to his arrest, one of the leaders of the recent pro-Serbian Democratic Front, Milan Knethevik, called on the then technical government of Abazovic not to be included in the arrest of Kosovo-displaced Serbs and Montenegrins.

Vukotovic has also been released from custody, the Supreme Court for the REL confirmed.

 

 

Kosovo citizen Ilir Bershia, 48, who was arrested in Montenegro in early October, is waiting for the extradition decision in Kosovo and is in custody.

He was arrested at the order of UNMIK and INTERPOL under suspicion of war crimes against the civilian population in Kosovo in 1999. The Supreme Court in Podgorica has appointed it until the verdict on the extradition issue is taken.

Since the end of the war in Kosovo, about 70 people have been convicted of war crimes before local and international institutions.

From 2000 to 2008, war crimes in Kosovo were investigated by the United Nations Mission, while from 2008, the European Union for Rule of Law mission was responsible for war crimes investigations.

 

 

In 2018, this mission has delivered documents to the Kosovo Prosecution and to local courts.