Office for Kosovo and Metohija: Arsic's arrest a new form of pressure and harassment of Serbs

The arrest of Zlatko Arsic, a father of three children from the village of Ajnovce in Kosovska Kamenica, is a new form of pressure and harassment to which Serbs in Kosovo and Metohija, especially south of the Ibar, are exposed and who are judged by Pristina in public before the end of the court process itself, the Office for Kosovo and Metohija points out.

As stated in the announcement, the Office for Kosovo and Metohija immediately provided free legal aid to Arsic, and Tanja Aksic, the president of the temporary body of Kosovska Kamenica, visited his family this morning and offered them all help and support.

"Arsic is a member of the Kosovo Police, and the logical question is, how did he pass all the necessary checks and tests to work there, and now he is suddenly accused of an alleged war crime? That raises the justified suspicion that the motives for Arsic's arrest are of a completely different nature, and last night's announcement by Xhelal Svecla, who declared Arsic guilty even before the trial and the court's decision, supports this," the Office added.

This, as stated in the announcement, clearly shows that there are no rights or justice for the Serbs in Kosovo and that their verdicts based on the political and ethnic key are pronounced in public, which violates the presumption of innocence and denies them the right to a fair trial.

"The Office will also inform international institutions operating in Kosovo and Metohija about all of this," the Office announced.