Five Kosovo Serbs, arrested for having exerted pressure on compatriots not to recognize the Albanian-lead government of Kosovo, will spend 30 days in detention.
An European Union judge has ordered a month of detention to five alleged members of Serbia’s interior ministry, working in Kosovo, arrested on Saturday by the Kosovo Police in the newly set-up Serb majority municipality of Partes/Partesh, Gjilane region.
One of the six arrested Serbs was released, judge Mariola Pasnik said in a statement on Monday.
“Following the detention hearing, the five suspects will remain in custody for thirty days,” says the EULEX statement.
The prosecutor in the case claims that the group was “exerting undue pressure on citizens of the Kosovo Serb community, living in Partes, not to recognize Kosovo’s institutions.”
According to local media the six men were under surveillance by the police for a while. Kosovo Police is searching for another suspect.
During the arrest, Kosovo Police found in their possession some long barreled weapons and ammunition.
Serbia’s Minister of Interior Affairs, Ivica Dacic, said on Sunday, that four of the detained are police officers but they do not serve in Kosovo. He told reporters in Belgrade that Serbia has no police forces in Kosovo.
The mayor of Partesh, Nenad Cvetkovic welcomes the news of the arrest. He told daily Express that the group was “terrorizing local Serbs by pressuring them not to recognize the institutions of Kosovo.”
Kosovo’s Police spokesperson, Brahim Sadriu told reporters in Pristina that the group is suspected of having issued “Serbia’s passports and driving licenses within the territory of Kosovo.”