An ethnic Serb M.M., who was arrested yesterday in North Mitrovica, has been remanded a 48-hour custody. He is being held in police station in Pristina, and is charged with three criminal offenses, his legal counsel, Nebojsa Vlajic, confirmed for KoSSev.
The lawyer specified that within that period, which expires on Thursday around noon, he will appear before a judge when a decision on possible detention will be made.
The Kosovo authorities are charging M.M. on three counts: Terrorism, urging for a violent change in the constitutional order and endangering a person under international protection.
Vlajic revealed that he will have more details about this case only after the court session on detention.
The lawyer also visited M.M. in custody in Pristina.
„He is a brave and strong man. I am encouraged by the fact that he knows he is innocent of what he is accused of,“ the lawyer stressed.
This young ethnic Serb was arrested in the center of the town, in a local hair salon, and the arrest was carried out by strong forces of the Special Police Unit.
Kosovo’s Minister of Internal Affairs Xhelal Svecla said that M.M. is allegedly suspected of being the main instigator of the recent clashes between Serbs and KFOR, and that he is „the leader of the criminal group Civil Protection“.
However, in his press release, this Kosovo official did not use the word „suspect“ but made a priori claims that the arrested Serb that he was the „main organizer of the attack on KFOR“, „leader of the Civil Protection formation“, and „the leader of a criminal gang that has been terrorizing citizens for years“, and that he „attacked the Kosovo police and institutions“.
The arrest prompted several hundred Serbs to gather in the town center immediately after, who expressed their dissatisfaction with the situation, while many of the residents present were visibly frightened.
At first, the crowd tried to prevent M.M. from being taken away, by throwing stones at the police vehicles, while the police used tear gas.
After that, residents gathered at an intersection.
When the leaders of SL made a brief appearance, citizens both verbally and physically attacked them.
During the protest, tensions were visible. Masked individuals attacked media crews and other people who were filming in order to prevent them from doing so. They also attacked a KoSSev portal journalist while she was reporting.
Citizens expressed their dissatisfaction and visible revolt and fear due to the long-standing position of Kosovo Serbs, and at one point they started chanting „treason“ and booing Aleksandar Vucic.
The gathering took place near the home of one of the SL officials, where the leadership of this list took refuge.
The crowd insisted that these leaders come out and address the citizens, but that did not happen.
Preuzimanje i objavljivanje tekstova sa portala KoSSev nije dozvoljeno bez navođenja izvora. Hvala na poštovanju etike novinarske profesije.
