Osmani: Five police officers still hostages in Serbia

(Patria) - Kosovo President Vjosa Osmani stated that five Kosovo police officers are still hostages in Serbia and called on international officials to react to stop such atrocities and chauvinistic actions by Serbia against the citizens of Kosovo.

"As long as we face security challenges, let's not forget that even at this moment, five police officers of our Republic are hostages of the chauvinistic state of Serbia. Therefore, I call on all our allies to raise their voices and intensify their efforts to stop such atrocities and chauvinistic actions against our citizens and our police," Osmani said during the graduation ceremony of the 59th generation of Kosovo Police cadets.

The Kosovo Ministry of Internal Affairs announced that the Serbian police arrested the Deputy Director of the Kosovo Police, Dejan Janković, and four other police officers at the Jarinje border crossing.

The Kosovo Ministry of Internal Affairs also announced on Wednesday evening that Janković is in custody without any explanation and that he was taken for questioning in Raška, southern Serbia.

On Wednesday, Serbian authorities detained at least four buses with Kosovo license plates and passengers from Kosovo at the border with Croatia. The secretary of the Kosovo Liaison Office in Serbia, Fatmir Haxholli, stated that such a blockade represents a "sign of revenge and absurd nervousness" by official Belgrade due to the vote in the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe on supporting Kosovo's membership in that organization.

After that, the Serbian Ministry of Internal Affairs denied the claims of Kosovo officials about the detention of buses with Kosovo license plates at the Batrovci crossing, stating that enhanced control of all passengers is underway.

However, during the previous day, Albanian-language Kosovo media published footage showing Kosovo buses standing aside for hours while other vehicles passed without significant delays.

"From early morning, citizens in buses and vehicles transporting our citizens from the west to Kosovo or vice versa were stopped, their personal documents were confiscated, and they were questioned without any prior justification," reads a statement from the Kosovo Ministry of Internal Affairs, which accused Serbian authorities of detaining Kosovars for hours and of various individuals questioning them about their participation or any connections with the Kosovo Liberation Army, or the war in Kosovo".

The European Union (EU) warned Serbia that the blockade of Kosovo buses at the border constitutes a violation of the agreement on freedom of movement and called on Belgrade to cease such unilateral actions.

"We are aware of the situation and are closely monitoring it. The agreement on freedom of movement reached within the EU-mediated dialogue sets clear parameters for the entry and exit of Kosovo citizens into and out of Serbia. The current situation constitutes a violation of this agreement," said EU spokesperson Peter Stano.

Prime Minister of Kosovo Albin Kurti considers the detention of Kosovo citizens in Serbia to be a "gross violation of human rights".

"The day after the vote in the Parliamentary Assembly in favor of Kosovo's membership in the Council of Europe, Serbia retaliates against Kosovo civilians. On Wednesday morning, over 300 of our citizens - including children - were detained at the border, without food and medicine," Kurti wrote on social network X.

On this occasion, Kosovo President Vjosa Osmani criticized the EU for an unbalanced approach to the dialogue process in Brussels and the implementation of the agreement for the normalization of relations between Kosovo and Serbia, adding that the blockade of Kosovo buses at the border is a form of revenge that Serbia is taking after Kosovo's successful step towards membership in the Council of Europe.