10 minutes agoFive Kosovars in Serbia's prisons, for two Kosovo has received confirmation from the Serbian state
Periskopi(2 years ago)
(2 years ago)Five Kosovo citizens are being held in Serbian prisons on charges of allegedly committing war crimes. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs has said those arrested are: Nezir Mehmetaj, Hasan Dajaj, F.K., Tefik Mustafa and M.I. MPJD has said that F.K. and M.I. are cases that have been reported as arrested [...]
MPJD has said that the F.K and M.I are cases that have been reported as being arrested by Serbian officials, but that Kosovo has officially received no confirmation of their identity or arrest.
The spokesman for this ministry, Leotrim Sahiti, has provided details about Mehmetaj and Dajan.
“Z. Hasan Dajaj has been sentenced to prison by the Supreme Court for allegedly the Belgrade War Crimes in length of (1) a year. Since Mr. Dajaj has been arrested on 5 January 2024, he is expected to be released on 4 January 2025. Mr. Nezir Mehmetaj, in addition to regular visits to the prison where it is being held (Centralni Zatvor) - CZ), in Belgrade, diplomats of the Interconnecting Office of the Republic of Kosovo in Serbia regularly attend even the court hearings, which are now under way two and a half years against him at the Belgrade High Criminal Court. ”- he told Express.
Sahiti says they have not yet received answers to the last prisoner, M.I.
At the moment, we are awaiting the response from the Serbian side regarding the latest MlI arrest case. By contrast, the confirmation of the case, the circumstances of arrest, the place of maintenance, and its full identity. As soon as we get this information out of here, then we'll make the visit to Mr. M. I.”
We remember another arrested was Sadik Duraku, who is a citizen of Great Britain as well. He was arrested on April 17th of this year at the Croatia-Serbia border, but was released on October 10th.
Sahiti suggests that he has returned to England, to his family.
“Sadik Duraku, arrested on April 17th 2024 at the Croatia-Serbia border crossing in Batrovci, has been released on October 10th 2024 and has now returned to his family, in Brighton, England. ”
On July 1st, Justice Minister Albulen Haxhiu published a letter that has been sent to her counterpart in Serbia, Maja Popovic, through which she has requested the transfer of Kosovo citizens being held in Serbia's prisons.
“Last week I asked Serbia's Justice Minister to transfer our citizens who are being held in Serbian prisons. Nezir Mehmetaj, Hasan Dalaj, Sadik Duraku and Tefik Mustafa must return to Kosovo to be judged fairly and impartial by the institutions of justice in the Republic of Kosovo”, she said.
What's in Haxhi's letter?
In the letter Minister Haxhiu has sent to Popovic, the Constitutional Agreement on Normalisation of Relations, linked between the contracting parties, the Republic of Kosovo and Serbia, is reportedly based on respect for territorial integrity and envisions the development of good neighbourly relations between our countries”.
According to it, these also imply good co-operation in matters of justice that ultimately benefit our citizens.
I am addressing this request for the transfer of citizens of the Republic of Kosovo who are being held in Serbian prisons on alleged crimes committed during the war in Kosovo. ”
Haxhiu has said that such <x0 claims and any subsequent legal action is exclusively linked to the jurisdiction of the country, where these alleged works have taken place”.
“In this direction Mr. Nezir Mehmetaj, Mr. Hasan Dajaj, Mr. Sadik Duraku and Mr. Tefiq Mustafa, must return to the Republic of Kosovo to be judged fairly and impartially, by the authority that is endowed with jurisdiction recognised by international public law. ”
“in the absence of judicial acts that formalise international judicial co-operation in criminal cases between our two countries, but we have started from prior obligations in the Basic Agreement, as well as the spirit of developing good neighbourly relations, to address the request as follows. ”
Haxhiu has written that “treatment of the cases initiated will take place based on the Constitution of the Republic of Kosovo and national legislation in force ensuring the highest guarantees of human rights protection”.
