Another Serbian police officer has been deported from Kosovo, with a five-year entry ban and the revocation of his Kosovo citizenship, his attorney Boban Petković confirmed to KoSSev. The latest deportation has drawn strong condemnation from the Serbian Government Office for Kosovo and Metohija.
Official Belgrade announced today that A.S. (34), from Brezovica near Strpce and currently employed by the Serbian Ministry of Internal Affairs in Niška Banja, was detained on Tuesday afternoon at the Elez Han / Đeneral Jankovic border crossing while returning from North Macedonia to Kosovo.
By the early hours of Wednesday, he was deported to Serbia proper under what Serbian officials describe as the same “mechanism” Pristina has been using over the past two weeks.
Attorney Boban Petković, who represents A.S., told KoSSev that his client was held for six hours at the border crossing following his detention.
“During that time, I spoke to police officers, but received no information other than that the process was ongoing and he would be held for six hours,” said Petković.
Shortly before the six-hour window expired, A.S. was deported by Kosovo Police’s Immigration Office.
“He was issued a ban on entering Kosovo, stripped of Kosovo citizenship, and the only explanation given was that he is a member of Serbian security forces,” Petković stated.
Strpce Mayor Dalibor Jevtić reacted to the incident, calling it “yet another act of persecution against Serbs by the Pristina regime.”
He said he had informed international representatives about the case, framing it as a violation of basic human rights.
„What more must Kurti do before you react and stop him, before he ethnically cleanses Kosovo?” Jevtić asked in a public appeal.
Conflicting Figures: Six or Eleven?
While Petković and various media outlets report that six individuals have been deported in the past two weeks on similar grounds, the Office for Kosovo and Metohija in its latest statement described A.S. as the eleventh Serbian police officer to be expelled from his home by “Albin Kurti’s unilateral, illegal, and illegitimate decision.”
The Office did not specify the time frame for the total of eleven alleged deportations but stated that the trend reflects “ongoing political terror, persecution, and retribution against Serbs.”
KoSSev reached out to the Office for clarification, but no response was received by the time of publication.
Inquiries have also been sent to the Kosovo Police and acting Minister of Internal Affairs, Xhelal Sveçla, seeking confirmation of the latest deportation and the total number of officers removed.
No replies have been received.
Context and Legal Justification
The series of deportations follows the June 7 arrest in Serbia of Arbnor Spahiu, a former member of the Kosovo Liberation Army and Kosovo’s special police unit. Spahiu is suspected of involvement in a murder case linked to the September 2023 Banjska incident.
His arrest has sparked strong reactions in Pristina, and the recent wave of police expulsions is being interpreted in some circles as a retaliatory move or pressure tactic for Spahiu’s release.
Kosovo authorities have thus far officially confirmed only three deportations, citing the Law on Citizenship. Under this law, Kosovo residents engaging in activities that “threaten national security” or who are members of the security forces or intelligence services of another state without prior approval or an international agreement — forfeit their Kosovo citizenship.
Kosovo Serb civil society groups have previously criticized these measures as lacking legal basis and due process, warning of human rights violations and the political undertone of the actions. Similar concerns have been voiced by officials in Belgrade and members of the Serbian political community in Kosovo.
Read more:
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