EULEX: We are monitoring the cases of the Serbs arrested in Zubin Potok; if we identify any shortcomings, we will bring them to the attention of the competent authorities

The EULEX Mission has announced that it is monitoring the cases of the Serbs arrested yesterday in Zubin Potok on suspicion of war crimes and that it will bring any shortcomings in the handling of the cases to the attention of the competent authorities.

“We can confirm that EULEX is monitoring the cases to which you refer. However, we do not comment on individual cases. Should any shortcomings be identified through our monitoring activities, we bring them to the attention of the competent authorities,” EULEX said in response to a question from Kosovo Online as to whether it was aware of the allegations that the arrested Serbs had not been allowed to contact their defence lawyers following their apprehension.

Dejan Vasic, the lawyer representing one of the detained Serbs from Zubin Potok, stated that neither he nor the lawyers representing the other detainees had been allowed to see them in Pristina last night, something he said had never happened to him in his 20 years of legal practice. Vasic said that the Court in Pristina would decide tomorrow on the request for the imposition of detention, at which point he would see his client for the first time.

Vasic explained that, immediately after the arrests in Zubin Potok, he and the lawyers representing the other detainees had travelled to Pristina and gone to the police station housing the War Crimes Investigation Department, but had not been allowed to see their clients or obtain any information about them.