Kosovo Albanian Remanded in Custody in Serbia on War Crimes Charge
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A Kosovo Albanian man was remanded in custody in Serbia on Monday on suspicion of involvement in the abduction of three Serbian policemen at the end of the 1998-99 Kosovo war.
Tefik Mustafa was arrested at the Merdare border crossing between Serbia and its former southern province on Saturday, on the eve of local elections in Serbia.
Interior Minister Ivica Dacic claimed Mustafa had fought with the guerrilla Kosovo Liberation Army in the late 1990s and was “mentioned in witness statements” as being involved in the abduction on June 19, 1999 on the road between the Kosovo capital Pristina and the eastern town of Gnjilane/Gjilan. The police officers were never seen again.
Media in Kosovo quoted Mustafa’s family as saying he was not in Kosovo during the war. Kosovo’s foreign ministry said a member of the country’s liaison office in Serbia would visit Mustafa on Tuesday or Wednesday.
In a press release, Belgrade Higher Court said it had remanded Mustafa in custody for up to 30 days, citing the “risk of escape” and that he might try to influence witnesses.
Kosovo’s foreign ministry called on Saturday’s for Mustafa’s release, accusing Serbia of “arbitrary and destructive acts that contradict international conventions on human rights”.
Serbia does not recognise Kosovo as independent but the European Union in 2013 negotiated a deal on mutual legal assistance by which they can exchange judicial requests via EU representatives. A BIRN analysis, however, showed there is little real legal cooperation between them.
