Jahirovic from North Mitrovica: Police beat me in front of my children, threatened my wife with rape

The Saturday morning peace of the Jahirovic family from North Mitrovica was abruptly disrupted by members of the Kosovo police, who entered their apartment to conduct a search. According to Gzim Jahirovic, the police acted improperly, employing excessive force, making racist remarks, and directing sexist comments toward his wife.

Following an explosion at the Ibar-Lepenac canal in the municipality of Zubin Potok, the Kosovo police carried out several raids in northern Kosovo, including at the home of Gzim Jahirovic, vice president of the Roma Initiative party.

Jahirovic explained that he was asleep at home with his wife and children when, at six in the morning, he heard someone ringing the doorbell. When he went to check, he saw a large number of police officers entering his brother’s apartment across the hall. The police, he said, ordered him to go back inside and shut the door.

"A few minutes later, they banged on my door and shouted for me to open up immediately. When I opened the door, they didn’t say anything—they just started beating me. One officer punched me in the eye, causing me to lose consciousness. He then instructed the others to tie me up in the bathroom. My wife and children watched as they beat me. Three officers took turns beating me. They told me they hadn’t slept for two days and were ready to do anything. They called me a bad person, a gypsy, and said I shouldn’t live in the north. They asked who my friends were and why I associate with Serbs," Jahirovic recounted.

He described being beaten on his face, ribs, body, and arms while other officers searched the house. Jahirovic added that his wife, Sultana, was forced to retrieve the trash she had thrown out.

"They started harassing her, saying all sorts of things. They threatened to strip and rape her and said they’d do a lot worse. They told her they’d change her name and that marrying me was her biggest mistake. They checked our phones and laptop, and whenever they got bored, they’d hit me on the neck, back, or wherever they could reach," he said.

Jahirovic described the incident as a nightmare, but what hurt him most was that his wife and children witnessed everything.

"The most painful thing is that they threatened to sexually assault my wife and said it was only because of the children that they didn’t. They didn’t care that the children were present," Jahirovic said.

During the search, police found a gas mask belonging to his late father, who had previously lived in the apartment. Jahirovic said that while he was being taken to the police station, the officers told his brother to join him and added that they would never be free.

At the station, Jahirovic faced further racist comments and was interrogated about whether he belonged to the "Civil Protection" or had been to Varage, allegations he denied.

Jahirovic tried to report the incident to the Kosovo Police Inspectorate in Gracanica but found the office closed. He then went to the office in North Mitrovica with a medical certificate, only to be told to return the following day.

"I expect them to come back. I’m not afraid for myself, but I worry about my children having to endure another nightmare. That’s all. I haven’t done anything illegal; I wouldn’t break the law. This is our country too. We live here, have homes, and our children go to school here. We just want to live like normal people," he said.

His brother, Adem Jahirovic, whose apartment was initially raided, described the police entry as extremely stressful, especially since his pregnant wife and children were present.

"They threw me to the ground, cuffed me, and asked where my weapons were. I told them I didn’t have any. I begged them to close the door so my wife and children wouldn’t see. They left the door open," he said.

After checking his ID, the police realized Adem was not the person they were looking for.

"My wife was crying, my child was crying. I feared for my child because this is incredibly stressful. This is truly catastrophic—I can’t feel safe in my own home. We work like everyone else, honestly, and have never wronged anyone," Adem concluded.