Three Kosovo policemen, apprehended by Serbian authorities – according to Belgrade, or „abducted“ – as Pristina has claimed, in the middle of June, have been released, Pristina media report. The arrested policemen’s lawyer also confirmed the same allegations in a statement for RFE. The Higher Court in Kraljevo also reacted, as well as the Prime Minister of Kosovo.
„After the preliminary procedure was conducted and the indictment was filed by the Higher Public Prosecutor’s Office in Kraljevo against the suspects B.S., R.Z. and Sh.M. due to criminal offense of illegal production, possession, and trafficking of weapons and explosive substances from Article 348, paragraph 4, paragraph 2, and paragraph 1 of the Criminal Code, the preliminary panel of the Higher Court in Kraljevo confirmed the indictment against the aforementioned defendants and issued a decision terminating the custody of the defendants,“ the Higher Court in Kraljevo stated.
In the meantime, the police officers have been released, as the secretary of the Liaison Office of Pristina in Belgrade, Fatmir Haxholi, confirmed with a photograph.
In the meantime, the Kosovo Prime Minister also confirmed that the police officers have been set free. „Although we are happy that they have returned to their families, this abduction is a serious violation of human rights and must be sanctioned. Serbia must answer for the aggression,“ Kurti said.
Belgrade lawyer Gradimir Nalic, who represents the arrested Kosovo policemen in Serbia, confirmed to RFE that their custody has been revoked and that they are being released.
„The indictment has been confirmed, and the custody has been revoked and they were released on their own recognizance,“ underlined Nalic, noting that the policemen are returning to Kosovo.
He also said that „in the interest of the clients“ he could not reveal anything more about this case.
In his last address on Sunday, the President of Serbia said that he does not believe the police officers can be released without an indictment, but that he does not know whether or not they will be released.
„The only thing they have to say against us in Brussels, and now they came with alleged evidence: they ate sandwiches. And we have confessions in every form, a man who says how he got lost and went to pick mushrooms, etc. And now all of a sudden it’s not mushrooms, but they were eating a sandwich, etc., so it’s a matter for the competent authorities, people in Kraljevo tackling this. Will or won’t they release them, that’s their business, I don’t believe they can be left without an indictment, but the issue of detention is something else, that’s a matter for the competent authorities.”
He repeated that they were arrested by Serbian authorities on the territory of Serbia proper. „I’m not interested in what happened on the territory of the autonomous province of Kosovo,“ he reiterated.
„What I am telling people and what I am certain about is that our units arrested them in the territory of Serbia proper. I neither know nor am interested in what happened on the territory of the autonomous province of Kosovo. I know what happened in the territory of Serbia proper, and I have the video and all the other materials that confirm it.“
Vucic said they offered to the international community to have the members of that anti-terrorist unit undergo a polygraph test.
He accused Kurti, the Germans and the Americans, and the English of using this against Serbia.
During the past two weeks, Vucic shared various reasons why these policemen allegedly decide to enter the territory controlled by Serbia. He even mentioned the possible „liquidation of someone“ who would „help“ after the arrest of M.M.L. in North Mitrovica. Vucic also mentioned Red Star fans in Zvecan.
Immediately after their release, the Hungarian Minister of Foreign Affairs, Péter Szijjártó, also reacted.
He informed the Hungarian president that the Serbian authorities would soon release three Kosovo policemen from custody.
„Viktor Orbán highly appreciates the move of the Serbian president, who made this decision in a period of serious challenges and which is clear proof of the deep friendship of the Serbian and Hungarian people and the strategic cooperation between the two countries,“ Szijjártó said in a Facebook post.
Orban previously called on his Serbian counterpart to release the police officers, which some analysts in Serbia assessed as the ground being prepared for the Serbian authorities to do so in the coming days.
Kosovo Albanian police officers were arrested on June 14th, a day after the arrest of M.M.L. in North Mitrovica, thus prompting the Kosovo Prime Minister to claim that it was a „revenge“ arrest.
On the other hand, the Serbian authorities initially claimed that the police officers were „heavily armed special forces“ arrested in the area of the village of Gnjilica in the municipality of Raska, 1.8 km from the administrative line.
The Kosovo authorities were adamant that the police officers were arrested on the Kosovo side while they were having lunch, and that they were not special forces, but regular border police. Furthermore, they kept insisting that it was a case of abduction and Serbian aggression.
Since then, top international officials have called on Serbia to immediately and unconditionally release the policemen, and the commander of KFOR even came to Belgrade on the same day.
Preuzimanje i objavljivanje tekstova sa portala KoSSev nije dozvoljeno bez navođenja izvora. Hvala na poštovanju etike novinarske profesije.
