PRISTINA – The Kosovo Police Inspectorate (KPI) has launched a preliminary investigation into allegations that Kosovo Police officers used excessive force against Nenad Rašković, a Serb from the village of Dren in the municipality of Zubin Potok, Radio Free Europe (RFE) reported.
Investigation was opened ex officio to verify the allegations and establish the facts and circumstances surrounding police actions during a recent operation in Dren and Zubin Potok.
“Without prejudging the outcome of the investigation, the purpose of this phase is to collect and assess all available information and evidence in accordance with the Inspectorate’s legal mandate”, the KPI stated.
The allegations were first made public by the Serb List, which claimed that Rašković had been physically abused by Kosovo Police officers. The SL published photographs purportedly showing bruises on his back and alleged that he had been taken to a forest, beaten with a water hose and pressured to confess to war crimes against Albanians.
Rašković later told Serbian-language media that three police officers had been present but that only one of them had beaten him. He also said that, after being tied up in the forest, he was released and returned home on his own.
Veton Elshani, deputy director of the Kosovo Police for the northern region, told RFE on 11 August that the police had no information that its officers had beaten anyone, adding that the Kosovo Police Inspectorate had been informed about the case.
The allegations come amid searches and arrests in Zubin Potok targeting individuals suspected of war crimes. Several locations in the municipality have recently been identified as possible sites of mass graves dating from the 1998–1999 Kosovo war.
The European Union Rule of Law Mission in Kosovo (EULEX) said it had taken note “with deep concern of the extremely serious allegations of ill-treatment by the Kosovo Police” and was closely monitoring the case.
“The prohibition of any form of ill-treatment is absolute and applies in all circumstances,” EULEX told RFE, adding that all such allegations must be investigated promptly, independently and effectively and that those responsible must be held accountable.
Four Kosovo Serb civil society organisations – Aktiv, the Institute for Territorial Economic Development (InTER), the Advocacy Center for Democratic Culture (ACDC) and the Center for Affirmative Social Actions (CASA) – called on Brussels on 12 August to assess the effectiveness of EULEX’s monitoring of the Kosovo Police.
The Serb List and Petar Petković, head of the Serbian Government’s Office for Kosovo, have also called for an urgent international investigation into the allegations.
