Mother of beaten and detained young men: I am very worried, my younger son's collarbone and ribs were broken

Andrijana Micic from Gracanica, the mother of two young men who were beaten and taken into custody by members of the Kosovo Police last night, told Kosovo Online that she felt very bad, that she had seen her children last night, but today the police wouldn't let her.

The incident in which Serbian young men A. M. (24) and M. M. (19) were beaten happened last night in the center of Gracanica, after being stopped for a traffic violation. The police acted brutally.

The mother of the beaten young men said that she felt very bad and worried about her sons.

"How a parent could feel. They are currently in hospital, one in Laplje Selo, the other in Gracanica. The younger son is unwell, and in pain, his collarbone and several ribs are broken, and the other has a problem with high blood pressure he is also asthmatic. They didn't let us in this morning to see them," Micic said anxiously.

"Two guys who didn't do anything, and because of one mistake, this happened... They could have done it in a nicer way, and not to come to an arrest. The children didn't hurt anyone, only Mihajlo was hurt, he couldn't hit anyone when they arrested him and handcuffed him, and they pushed Andrija away," Micic said.

The Miciv brothers were remanded in custody for 48 hours and accused of assaulting an official.

"The Office for Kosovo and Metohija provided lawyers, we are grateful for that," Micic added.

The aunt of the beaten boys, Jelena Todorovic, says that there are witnesses that they did not do anything to anyone.

"Last night we visited Andrija and Mihajlo, today they don't allow us. Mihajlo is in a worse condition, his shoulder is injured, and he got punched in the ribs. Andrija has high blood pressure and is asthmatic. We hope that the community will help us and that the truth will come out. Three witnesses gave statements that Mihajlo had been beaten for no reason; their statements matched. If we do not understand the Albanian language, it should be properly translated into Serbian. The children came late last night because they were working. This is not the first case, and it won't be the last if someone doesn't react. I appeal to all of you to support us," Todorovic said.