Brkljac: Milun Milenkovic's detention was extended for another two months

Lawyer Miodrag Brkljac told Kosovo Online that the coach of the "Kosovska Mitrovica" kickboxing club, Milun Milenkovic Lune, who was arrested on June 13 this year in North Mitrovica, had been remanded in custody for another two months.

"Yesterday, Milenkovic's detention was extended for another two months, and according to the latest decision, it will last until November 13. His detention was extended the same as in previous decisions, on all grounds that are required by law, and that is because of the risk of escape, because of the risk that he will influence the witnesses and accomplices, and because of the gravity of the crime, which indicates that he may repeat the crime if he were to be released. So, nothing new and nothing spectacular compared to the earlier period," Brkljac says.

He states that the defense filed an appeal with the Court of Appeal yesterday, but adds that, having learned from the experience of earlier cases and the decisions made in the case of Milenkovic, he does not expect anything to change in terms of custody.

Brkljac also said that he expected the prosecutor to question Milenkovic in the coming days.

"The investigation is taking its course, in the next few days I expect the prosecutor to call me and inform me that he has decided to finally listen to Milenkovic, I expect that he will fulfill that promise," Brkljac points out.

He also says that the defense asked for house arrest for Milenkovic.

"I will repeat that I am not optimistic that there will be any change when it comes to detention, although we requested and believe that house arrest would have the same purpose, and as proof of that we have offered and repeatedly emphasized the case of Dejan Pantic, who is under house arrest for a full eight months and did not run away, even if he was also charged with a very serious crime," Brkljac says.

The special prosecutor of Kosovo, Afrim Shefkiu, as stated by lawyer Brkljac, accuses Milenkovic of allegedly carrying out a "terrorist attack on the premises of the municipal election commission" in December last year in North Mitrovica, of "organizing the attack on members of KFOR and the Kosovo Police in Zvecan on May 26 this year", and that he allegedly "beat up four Albanians on the promenade in North Mitrovica".

He adds that, when it comes to the clash of citizens with KFOR and the Kosovo police in Zvecan, his client was not even there that day and that act, as he points out, "has nothing to do with him".

He states that one of the arguments for the extension of detention was the fact that Milenkovic is also a citizen of Serbia.

"Just because they say that he is a citizen of Kosovo, but also of Serbia, they draw the conclusion that he can escape to Serbia as if he cannot do the same if he is not a citizen of Serbia. It is an argument that is nonsensical and we can say a bit of a ridiculous argument. But that's how it is," Brkljac says.

According to the lawyer, the prosecutor indicated that he would charge Milenkovic with some other criminal acts.

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