Supreme Court rejects requests for protection of legality: Detention of nine Serbs from Zubin Potok extended until December 25

Lawyers representing nine Serbs from the Zubin Potok area, suspected of war crimes against the civilian population, have received a ruling from the Supreme Court of Kosovo rejecting as unfounded their requests for protection of legality challenging the decision to place them in detention. As lawyer Jelena Krivokapic stated, their detention has meanwhile been extended by a further two months, until December 25.

Krivokapic said she received the Supreme Court of Kosovo ruling by email on October 26. The ruling was issued by a panel on October 23.

“Yesterday, as the defense lawyer for one of the suspects, I received by email a ruling from the Supreme Court of Kosovo, adopted by a panel on October 23, rejecting as unfounded the requests for protection of legality that we, the lawyers representing the nine individuals suspected of war crimes against the civilian population in the Zubin Potok area, filed against the decision of the Basic Court in Pristina, Special Department, dated September 29, which ordered their detention. That decision was upheld by the Court of Appeals on October 8. In the meantime, the Basic Court in Pristina extended their detention by a further two months, from October 26 until December 25,” Krivokapic said.

Krivokapic, who represents Miroslav Radojevic, noted that the ruling cited the same grounds as the decisions of the lower courts.

“The same grounds were cited as in both lower court decisions: the risk of flight, the possibility of influencing witnesses, and the existence of reasonable suspicion that they committed the offense they are charged with,” Krivokapic said.

Lawyer Predrag Miljkovic, who represents Milos Raskovic, one of the suspects, pointed to what he described as an inconsistency in the court's reasoning concerning his client, who is also listed as a witness in the proceedings.

“Milos Raskovic is listed as a witness in proceedings against himself. We pointed out in our appeal that this was impossible. The appeal was rejected. In our request for protection of legality, we again argued that this was impossible. The Supreme Court's reasoning is even worse than that of the lower courts. It even states that there is a reasonable risk that the defendants, including Raskovic, will influence witnesses, among whom Raskovic is once again listed. In other words, there is a risk that Raskovic, the defendant, will influence himself, Raskovic, the witness,” Miljkovic explained.

On October 8, the Court of Appeals in Pristina rejected the defense appeals against the Basic Court's decision to order one month's detention for the nine Serbs from Zubin Potok suspected of war crimes against the civilian population.

Krivokapic, who represents Miroslav Radojevic, noted at the time that the defense had received the decision only in Albanian.

On September 29, the Basic Court in Pristina ordered detention for up to 30 days for the nine Serbs from Zubin Potok. Before that, they had twice been placed in police custody for up to 48 hours.

Their lawyers subsequently filed appeals, seeking their release pending trial and proposing house arrest or other alternative measures to ensure their presence during the proceedings.
Kosovo Police arrested the nine Serbs from Zubin Potok on September 27.