Confession of mistakenly arrested Miljan Jovanovic: A difficult sleepless night for the children and for me

Miljan Jovanovic, a Serb from Leposavic, a former member of the Kosovo Police, who, as it turned out, was mistakenly arrested yesterday at the administrative crossing of Jarinje, in an emotional confession for Kosovo Online recounted what happened to him from the moment of his arrest until the moment when he was released, this morning.

"Yesterday around 4:30 p.m., when returning from Serbia, we were stopped at the administrative crossing of Jarinje at the Kosovo Police checkpoint. I gave my documents for identification and on that occasion I emphasized that there was a warrant for me that had been issued in 2020, and I also I emphasized that it was a mistake. The police officer who took my documents entered them into the system and saw that I was wanted by the Special Court for Organized Crime. I emphasized that it was a mistake and that it was another person with a similar name and the same last name, but that we are not of the same date of birth, year, and month, but that he is a totally different person," Jovanovic explains.

He added that after that he had been told to park in the right stop lane for trucks and wait for a thorough identity check to be carried out.

"They were doing a detailed check, in the meantime, another policeman came and I immediately told him to inform the Inspectorate and that I've been passing by there for years, that I haven't had any problems, but I've also been stopped before, that checks have been carried out and that I'm always after that released to continue my movement. However, this time, during a more detailed check, I received a call, I don't know from where, I just heard, as far as I could understand the Albanian language, that my arrest should be carried out," Jovanovic says.

He adds that three ROSU officers appeared at the door of the office and immediately handcuffed him, without explaining why he was arrested.

"We headed towards the police vehicle, which was parked on the right side of the container, they didn't even let me tell my wife that I was under arrest. I simply had to raise my hands for her to see the handcuffs in a moment and for her to realize that I was under arrest. my basic human rights were violated there, the right to say that I was arrested," Jovanovic adds.

Jovanovic points out that his children were also present there, and started crying.

"And they called me to come with them. My wife didn't know how to leave Jarinje, so I told her to call someone from her relatives and go home, considering that it was right at that moment. I was under stress like the whole family. I was suddenly pushed into a vehicle by members of ROSU so I could not say anything. I asked where I was being taken, and they did not answer. We reached an improvised checkpoint in Jarinje, not far from the Jarinje administrative crossing, where the border police and ROSU units are located. Two more members of the ROSU unit got into the vehicle I was in. I was in the middle. When we came across any large place, one of them kept informing us where we were passing, they were moving at high speed, overtaking everything in front of them until North Mitrovica," Jovanovic says.

As he adds, even after he was brought to the police station in South Mitrovica, nothing was communicated to him. After that, members of ROSU took him to the detention center.

"I am sitting at the table taking off my shoelaces and belt and I am still trying to explain to them that there is a mistake to what they responded that tomorrow it would be resolved. I was given a form in the detention unit in South Mitrovica, but I believe that my basic human rights have been violated and that I didn't get the human rights sheet that should have been handed to me automatically when I was detained. The officer in charge of the detention center came to visit me often. I was under video surveillance and a bright spotlight was on 24/7, so I couldn't close my eyes all night. It was cold, there was no heating, I slept on a concrete bed, the cloths were dirty, I covered myself with a jacket," Jovanovic says.

He adds that in the morning he was told that he would be taken to the Court for Organized Crime in Pristina at 8:00 a.m. and that he would be escorted there by members of ROSU.

"I didn't sleep the whole night, minutes felt like years. When we arrived in Pristina, we went to the court in Hajvalia, I'm not sure. The policemen asked questions, and I had the feeling that they didn't know where they were taking me either. The plainclothes policeman who was there said that they should not take me there, but to the Court for Organized Crime in the center of Pristina. We got to that building, they sat me down without laces, without a belt, and some people came, I think they were prosecutors. They went to the office and very quickly came back, they were correct and asked me if I was that person, I confirmed that I was not and that my name was similar, to which they replied that it was a mistake," Jovanovic says.

Jovanovic adds that as a former member of the police, he never had disagreements with either the Serbs or Albanians.

"We cooperated correctly. I did my job correctly. I never had any problems with the service. I still don't know if the mistake has been corrected. We have a lot of relatives in Serbia and now I don't know if I should go through the administrative crossing. Now I'm in a dilemma if it is still in the system or if it has been deleted. No one has told me anything," Jovanovic adds.

According to him, upon returning to the police station in South Mitrovica, he had the feeling that the police wanted to continue checking him, even though the court confirmed the mistake and released him.

"They were amazed at all this and asked questions, 'What is this? This doesn't agree?' A transport was waiting to take me back to the northern part. I said if no one would drive me, I was free and I would like to continue on, and I could also walk. A policeman with a higher rank approached me and said that I was free and that they provided me with transportation. The meeting with the children was very emotional, a difficult sleepless night for them, but also for me," Miljan Jovanovic emphasizes.