Vlajic: Serb J.R. from Zubin Potok ordered detained for up to 30 days

The Basic Court in Pristina has ordered up to 30 days of pre-trial detention for J.R., a Serb from Zubin Potok who was arrested yesterday on suspicion of committing war crimes against the civilian population, defense lawyer Nebojsa Vlajic confirmed.

Vlajic recalled that this is the third arrest connected with the excavation site in Mala Kaludra, near Zubin Potok.

"This is yet another arrest, the third if I am not mistaken, related to the case known as Mala Kaludra in the municipality of Zubin Potok, connected with the ongoing excavations and the arrests being carried out by the police in that village. As I have believed from the outset, and am now convinced, I am certain that the public prosecutor has no evidence and that this arrest is, in practical terms, unlawful. However, at this stage it is very difficult to prove that. Most likely, the case will proceed to trial, and only then will we see what it is really about," Vlajic said after the detention hearing.

According to him, the police are arresting people in the municipality of Zubin Potok without evidence.

"I am completely convinced that those conducting the proceedings believe that these excavations, if they uncover anything at all, cannot take place without arrests. They are arresting people who live in that village and who certainly would not still be there if they felt any sense of guilt. Therefore, I believe this will eventually be proven, but at this moment there is simply no one to whom you can effectively present that argument," Vlajic said. 

The Kosovo Special Prosecution announced yesterday that J.R.'s arrest was the result of intensive investigative work carried out jointly with police investigators as part of the institutions' ongoing commitment to investigating and clarifying war crimes. 

On July 28, Momir Jaksic and Miljko Bisevac were also arrested in Zubin Potok on suspicion of committing war crimes against Albanian civilians during the 1999 conflict in the Mitrovica area. On July 29, both were placed in pre-trial detention for one month.