Mitrovic: A request for protection of legality submitted to the Supreme Court in the case of Dalibor Spasic

Lawyer Srdjan Mitrovic, the barrister of Dalibor Spasic, who was ordered to be detained for 30 days on June 19 for an alleged attack on journalists, as well as for hooliganism, told Kosovo Online that today he had submitted a request to the Supreme Court of Kosovo for the protection of legality because as he stated, the Court of Appeals of Kosovo to which he appealed, in this case, had not reacted even after 14 days.

"The Court of Appeals had the obligation by law to respond within four days to my reported appeal against detention, but 14 days have passed and we have not received any response. Today I submitted a request for the protection of legality to the Supreme Court of Kosovo, on which I was forced due to failure to respond to the appeal. I submitted the request based on the European Convention on Human Rights, the Constitution of Kosovo, and a violation of the procedure," Mitrovic told Kosovo Online.

He stated that Spasic's one-month detention should expire on July 17 and added that "he is being held in prison based on an invalid decision of the first-instance court."

"At the very least, I expect the Supreme Court of Kosovo to decide that the right to a trial has been violated within a reasonable time. The Supreme Court should react urgently and force the Court of Appeals to resolve this situation. I was also contacted by an employee of EULEX, so they are also aware of this case and are interested in it, and I informed her about the steps I took," Mitrovic says.

He adds that by violating Spasic's procedural rights, such as the right to appeal, the right to equality in the proceedings, and the right to a trial within a reasonable time, the basic human right - the right to freedom is also violated.

"Because of all that, I submitted a request to the Supreme Court and asked it to act on the request for the protection of legality, and I expect the Supreme Court to make an urgent announcement on this issue," Mitrovic said.

Dalibor Spasic, a medical technician from North Mitrovica, was arrested on June 17 in Jarinje while returning from central Serbia with his minor daughter and wife.

On June 19, the Basic Court in Mitrovica ordered him to be detained for 30 days.