Grubesic: Ramadani is a "hot potato" for both Skopje and Pristina

Aleksa Grubesic, a researcher at the Center for Social Stability in Novi Sad, stated that the case of Blerim Ramadani had been a "hot potato" for North Macedonia and that this scenario had primarily benefited the Albanian political elites in both Skopje and Pristina.

"This was definitely a hot potato for the authorities in North Macedonia. They were under pressure from both sides. On one hand, there was pressure from Belgrade to extradite Ramadani, and on the other hand, pressure from the Albanians to prevent it. It is highly questionable what decision the Supreme Court of Macedonia would have made, who would have actually decided, and in what way. The Albanians certainly didn't want, and Ramadani and his accomplices didn't want, to wait for such a court decision, so they chose to escape from house arrest, making this the conclusion of the legal process," Grubesic said to Kosovo Online.

He believes that this outcome of the extradition process was most favorable to Albanian politicians in both North Macedonia and Kosovo, as it avoided a trial for a person suspected of war crimes against Serbs.

"Ramadani's escape from house arrest certainly suits the Albanian political structures in both North Macedonia and Kosovo because they do not want Serbia, official Belgrade, to prosecute a KLA terrorist. Just to remind, Ramadani was a member of the Nerodimlje Operational Zone who committed war crimes against Serbian civilians in Nerodimlje, in the urban area of Urosevac, and in surrounding villages throughout the region. He is accused of expelling Serbs, killing Serbian civilians, and burning Serbian homes and churches. There is no doubt that he is a war criminal and terrorist who needs to be held accountable," Grubesic stated.

He reminds that Ramadani is the third member of the former KLA to be arrested in North Macedonia based on an Interpol warrant issued by Serbia, but in both previous cases, the North Macedonian court decided not to extradite them.