Serbia arrests Kosovars, institutions call for response

Serbia's Minister of Internal Affairs, Ivica Dacic, has said that a person suspected of war crimes against the civilian population in Kosovo has been arrested Saturday at the Merdare border crossing. It's about Tefiq Mustaff, who was arrested on June 1st as he passed by.

According to the Serbian MUP, Mustafa allegedly “, who as a member of the KLA, in witness statements has been cited as participants in police abduction Goran Marinkovic, Zivojin Pavic and Predrag Milosevic, on June 19, 1999, on Pristina road Djilan, who lost all traces to”.

And it's not just Mustafa that got lucky this year, writes Express.

On April 17 of this year, Sadik Duraku was also arrested. Duraku, who is also British citizen, was arrested on April 17th of this year at the border point between Croatia and Serbia. According to Serbian authorities, he allegedly committed criminal work “created war against the civilian population”. Serbian authorities suspect Duraku, “along with strangers, during 1999, in the Gjakova municipality area of Prizren and Peja, as a member of the Kosovo Liberation Army, has physically beaten, mentally harassed and robbed the civilian population”.

Just on April 17th, several buses were blocked at the border agreement between Croatia and Serbia, and several Kosovars were detained.

Among those detained that day was Deputy Director of the Kosovo Police Dejan Jankovic. He was released.

In addition to Mustafa and Durak, arrested this year is Hasan Dajaj, former member of the Kosovo Liberation Army (UÇK).

He has been arrested on 6 January at the Merdare border checkpoint.

The act against him has not yet been published. Serbia's War Crimes Prosecutor charges him with war crimes co-operation against the civilian population.

Institutions Call for Avoidance of Passing Through Border Points with Serbia

Kosovo institutions have repeatedly called for citizens to avoid crossing border crossings with Serbia.

After the arrest of Tefiq Mustafa, The MPJ reported that it has announced the <x0) diplomatic commissions of the United States and Great Britain and other states in Belgrade, as well as has submitted official request to Serbia's Interconnecting Office in Kosovo for confirmation of the arrest and offering other relevant details, in which the European Union Delegation to Serbia” is included.

They have condemned the ban and mistreatment of Kosovo citizens from Serbia, while also announcing the QUINT states on Serbia's move.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Diaspore strongly condemns the ban, arrest and mistreatment of citizens of the Republic of Kosovo, and also calls on the International Community to take concrete steps to release the citizen immediately. Tefiq Mustafa and at the same time seek responsibility from the Serbian state for these arbitrary and destructive actions and that clash with international human rights conventions. The MPJD for this arrest has announced and the states of the QUINT in Kosovo and will keep you informed about the case, and for any new information we will inform you by the time”, the announcement says.

Arresting Kosovars in Serbia, UN calls for fair legal process

The US State Department (DASH) has told Radio Free Europe on Wednesday that it is aware of the arrest of an individual from Serbian authorities, under suspicion of war crimes in the years of CHA90s, and calls for a fair and transparent legal process against him, and other persons arrested under the same suspicion.

A UN spokeswoman has issued this statement, in order to comment on the ban of Kosovo citizens Tefik Mustafa from Serbian authorities, at the border crossing between Kosovo and Serbia, Merdare, on 1 June.

A court in Belgrade has ruled against him for 30-day detention.

“We call on Serbian institutions to ensure a fair and transparent legal process for this case, as with any other arrest, in accordance with the rule of law”, is said among other things in the response of the US State Department.

Kosovars sentenced by Serbia over years

Arrests from Serbia took place over the years. Some were even found guilty and suffering the penalty.

In November 2022, the Supreme Court in Belgrade found Petrit Dula guilty of war crimes in a village near Gjakova in 1999, while he was a member of the KLA.

However, in April 2023, he was declared innocent.

However, he has served in Belgrade the sentence of the first-ever court of two years in prison.

In 2018, Ramadan Maloku was arrested and charged with a crime in the Upper Nerodimes in the Ferizaj municipality.

By accepting the plea agreement, in March 2019, he was sentenced to one and a half years in prison.

In November 2016, Hilmi Kelmendi was arrested on the charge of war crimes, but the prosecution stopped prosecution, and after several days he was released.

In April 2012, Mark Kashnjet was arrested and tried for crimes against civilians in Prizren, Kosovo. He was later declared innocent.