Arsic: Pantic detained for up to 48 hours, it's all the same pattern

Tomislav Pantic from Istok, who was arrested on suspicion of committing a war crime, has been placed under police detention for up to 48 hours, his lawyer, Vasilije Arsic, confirmed for Kosovo Online, emphasizing that Pantic stated he had no connection to any war crimes.

“We just left the police station. Pantic was questioned as a suspect for war crimes, and after the questioning, the prosecutor ordered police detention for 48 hours,” Arsic said.

He added that Pantic was arrested on the orders of the Special Prosecutor's Office when he came to visit his property in the village of Crnce near Istok.

He also noted that Pantic left Kosovo in June 1999 and has since been trying to reclaim his property.

“He has been engaged in legal disputes before the Basic Court in Istok and the Court of Appeals in Pristina. Today, he came to check the status of his case, but was met with an arrest warrant and was taken to the investigative department for war crimes in Pristina,” said lawyer Arsic.

He conveyed that Pantic stated he had come solely for that reason and that he had no connection to any war crimes.

“During the questioning, not a single event, date, or description was mentioned linking him to the war crime he is being accused of, and for which he has no knowledge, nor, I believe, does the prosecutor know what it’s about…,” Arsic pointed out.

He noted that Pantic is 85 years old, was never mobilized, nor worked for the police or military, but in an agricultural cooperative, and had no involvement in any military operations.

“All of this seems to follow the same pattern where anyone fighting to return or reclaim their property is labeled a war criminal and forced to give up their property,” Arsic emphasized.

As the Office for Kosovo and Metohija stated today, Pantic, who is in his ninth decade of life, was arrested despite having frequently visited his property in Metohija in the past years from central Serbia, where he has been living.

The Office for Kosovo and Metohija commented that this case once again shows Albin Kurti's intent to ethnically cleanse Kosovo of Serbs.