Pantovic: Elezovic's detention extended despite medical documentation of his critical condition

Ilija Elezovic's detention, who was arrested on September 20 on charges of alleged war crimes, has been extended for another two months, even though the judge had all the necessary medical documents about his extremely severe health condition," lawyer Ljubomir Pantovic said in an interview with Kosovo Online.

Pantovic, who is representing Elezovic, also points out that the detention of two other Serbs, Zoran Kostic and Dragan Milovic, who were arrested on the same day as his client on charges of alleged war crimes, was also extended.

Lawyer Pantovic stresses that Elezovic's case is unique because he is a seriously ill cancer patient who has been taken to various medical examinations in Pristina four times in the last four weeks.

"Ilija Elezovic's case is particularly characteristic because the public is aware of his dramatic health condition. Over the past four weeks, Elezovic has been taken to various medical examinations in Pristina. Due to his poor health, he received visits from representatives of the OSCE, UNMIK, EULEX, and the Ombudsman, and was visited twice by a representative of the International Red Cross from Geneva, all due to his extremely poor health condition. The court had medical documentation that testified to and confirmed his poor health. There is even a document written by a doctor stating that prison conditions could significantly worsen his health. However, nothing helped, and his detention was extended for another two months today," Pantovic stated.

He will file an appeal against the court's decision tomorrow.

Pantovic also adds that the decisions regarding the extension of detention were provided in the Albanian language, which is a violation of the law.

"I am fortunate to understand Albanian quite well, but in any case, the law is being violated to my detriment and to the detriment of the people I am defending," Pantovic stated.

The lawyer reminds that in the past, the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) released a significant number of defendants on provisional liberty due to their poor health.

"In Elezovic's case, this did not happen. I cannot say who can influence the Kosovo judiciary, but in this case, all the conditions were genuinely met for Ilija Elezovic to be placed under house arrest because he is simply in such a state of health that he cannot go anywhere outside North Mitrovica, even if he wanted to," Pantovic said.

The Office for Kosovo and Metohija has sent a letter to the head of EULEX, Giovanni Pietro Barban, regarding the poor health condition, treatment, and status of Ilija Elezovic, who has been in detention for almost a month on charges of alleged war crimes. The letter highlights the poor treatment of Kosovo institutions towards him, which, as they point out, could have a fatal outcome. The Office for Kosovo and Metohija also sent the health status report of Elezovic to other missions operating in Kosovo.