Brkljac: Milenkovic's detention extended for another two months; we have appealed to the Court of Appeals

Coach Milun Milenkovic Lune, from the Kickboxing Club "Kosovska Mitrovica", who was arrested on June 13 this year in North Mitrovica, has had his detention extended for another two months, his lawyer Miodrag Brkljac confirmed for Kosovo Online.

"A few days ago, we received the decision of the pre-trial judge Mentor Bajraktari, who accepted the request of the Special Prosecutor to extend Lune's detention for another two months, which, according to the latest decision, should last until January 12 next year", Brkljac says.

He adds that the only novelty or bright spot in the whole process is that the judge accepted the objections they expressed in written form against the request of the Special Prosecutor, where they pointed out that there was no basis for extending the detention.

"We emphasized that there was no basis for extending the detention on any grounds, especially due to the influence on alleged witnesses or accomplices because the court has already heard a number of suspects in that case who allegedly participated in the commission of these crimes attributed to them. There is no logic that there could be any influence on them in the sense that it could be a reason to extend the detention", Brkljac adds.Top of Form

Brkljac states that Milenkovic's detention has been extended due to the risk of escape, and they do this with all the accused, explaining that, in addition to Kosovo, he also holds Serbian citizenship.

"The fact that he has both Kosovo and Serbian citizenship supposedly means that he can escape to Serbia, which is absurd because he can go to Serbia even without Serbian citizenship", he says.

He notes that the defense filed an appeal to the Court of Appeals yesterday and is waiting for them to respond within the appropriate deadline, although, as he says, these deadlines are never adhered to because they are more indicative deadlines.

Since his arrest, Milun Milenkovic Lune has been in the high-risk detention unit in Podujevo, and after his arrest in North Mitrovica, several protest gatherings of the Serbs were held, from which messages of support were sent to him.