Serb List: Arrests in Ibarski Kolasin continuation of pressure on Serbs; all rights must be guaranteed to detainees

The Serb List said that the arrest of nine Serbs in villages in the Ibarski Kolasin area represented a continuation of systematic pressure on the Serbian people in northern Kosovo and called for all rights of those arrested to be guaranteed, as well as for international missions to monitor the conduct of the police and judicial institutions.

“This morning’s brutal operation by Kurti’s police in the villages of Ibarski Kolasin and the arrest of nine Serbs have once again caused fear, anxiety and uncertainty among the Serbian people in northern Kosovo and Metohija. Dozens of heavily armed Albanian police officers, breaking down doors, damaging private property and intimidating dozens of families on this Sunday morning, have shaken every Serb,” the Serb List said in a statement.

The party said that this was not a legal process conducted with full respect for the presumption of innocence and the right to a defense, but rather “retaliation and Kurti’s method of persecuting Serbs.”

“The fact is that Serbs in Zubin Potok have been subjected to appalling terror in recent months, reminiscent of an occupation. There is no doubt that these actions by Kurti’s regime, which supports the blockaders in Serbia, represent a continuation of systematic pressure on Serbs in Ibarski Kolasin and that their consequence, regardless of the explanations coming from Pristina, is the creation of an atmosphere of fear and insecurity aimed at making life unbearable for the Serbian people in their centuries-old homes,” the Serb List said.

Particularly concerning, the party said, was the fact that serious allegations relating to events from more than two and a half decades ago were being made amid large-scale police operations, while at the same time no concrete evidence had been presented to the public that would justify such treatment of entire families and local communities.

“Justice is not administered at gunpoint, through raids on Serbian homes and the collective intimidation of an entire people. Justice requires evidence, independent proceedings, the right to legal counsel, the presumption of innocence and equal rules for everyone,” the Serb List said.

The party therefore demanded that all rights to which those arrested were entitled be guaranteed without delay, including unhindered access to lawyers and their families, as well as proceedings free from political pressure.

The Serb List said it expected representatives of the international community, KFOR, EULEX and other relevant missions to closely monitor the conduct of the institutions and prevent any misuse of police and judicial mechanisms for political purposes.

“The Serbian people in Ibarski Kolasin have the right to live freely and without fear that each new morning will bring another raid, search or arrest. The Serb List will insist on respect for the rights of every person arrested and demand answers to all the questions raised by today’s operation,” the party concluded.

Kosovo Police arrested nine people in Zubin Potok early this morning on suspicion of committing a “war crime against the civilian population.”

The Office for Kosovo and Metohija also reacted to the arrests, stating that mass arrests had become Pristina’s new method of retaliation against Serbs and that it was using recent discoveries in Zubin Potok as a pretext to stigmatize and target all remaining Serbs.