Antonijevic: Suspension of police officers points to lack of security guarantees for the Serbian community

Serbia's Commissioner for the Protection of Equality, Milan Antonijevic, pointed out that the suspension of two Kosovo Police officers over the mistreatment of Serb Nenad Raskovic from the village of Dren demonstrates the seriousness of the case, but also the lack of security guarantees for the Serbian community.

“The investigation into this very serious and sensitive case of torture against Nenad Raskovic is yielding its first results. The suspension of two Kosovo police officers speaks to the seriousness of the case, but also to the lack of security guarantees for the Serbian community,” Antonijevic wrote on the social network X.

He stressed that the investigation must be swift, independent, and thorough in order to establish the full responsibility of everyone who participated in or enabled what happened in this case.

“It is important that the investigation be swift, independent, and thorough, as the institutions of Serbia have demanded, so that the full responsibility of everyone who participated in or enabled such conduct is established, as well as those who subsequently spread disinformation about this case, and that international missions closely monitor the entire process,” Antonijevic said.

He added that only concrete accountability can restore at least some of the trust of the Serbian community in Kosovo and send a clear message that torture and mistreatment cannot be tolerated.

The Kosovo Police Inspectorate recommended that the Kosovo Police suspend two officers from the Regional Police Directorate in North Mitrovica over suspicions of the criminal offense of “mistreatment in the exercise of official duties or public authority,” in connection with an incident in which Nenad Raskovic, a Serb from the village of Dren, sustained serious injuries.

Serb List Presidency member Igor Simic said that the suspension is only the first step and that it is necessary for the perpetrators to be held accountable in court.

Nenad Raskovic, a Serb from the village of Dren, was seriously injured on August 11 after, according to his account, he was beaten by Kosovo police officers.

Raskovic was admitted to the Clinical Hospital Center in Kosovska Mitrovica, but due to the severity of his injuries, he was transferred to the Clinical Center of Serbia in Belgrade for treatment.