Kosovo Police Officers Return Home After Serbian Court Release

Jasmina Kuzmanovic and Jan Bratanic
·2 min read
6

(Bloomberg) -- Three police officers returned to Kosovo Monday after a Serbian court ordered their release from detention in a move that could help ease tensions between the neighboring countries.

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The men were received by their colleagues after spending 10 days in custody, the Pristina-based Koha newspaper reported.

The law-enforcement officers remain indicted on Serbian charges that they were carrying firearms illegally, state TV reported, citing a decision by a court in the southern Serbian city of Kraljevo. The government in Kosovo said the officers were kidnapped earlier this month from its own territory, while Belgrade said they had crossed illegally into Serbia.

The release is the first move by either side to try to defuse a crisis between Serbia and Kosovo, whose relations have deteriorated to the worst levels since their armed conflict 25 years ago.

International mediators, led by the European Union’s foreign affairs head, Josep Borrell, had tried to secure the release of the officers. But it was Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, who counts Serbia’s President Aleksandar Vucic as an ally, who said he negotiated the release.

Kosovo declared independence from Serbia in 2008, almost a decade after a NATO military intervention halted a Serbian offensive in the province populated mostly by ethnic Albanians. While the US and most EU nations recognize Kosovo, Serbia has vowed never to do so. Both countries are required to improve relations before continuing with the process to integrate into the EU.

The worst violence in a decade broke out last month in the north of Kosovo, where ethnic Serbs constitute a majority. Serbs first boycotted local elections and then protested at the outcome when ethnic Albanians entered elected office. Dozens of people were injured in ensuing demonstrations, including NATO peacekeepers.

US and EU mediators said they feared unrest could escalate into a broader conflict in the Western Balkans.

Read more: US, EU Warn of Serbia-Kosovo Unrest Igniting Broader Conflict

They demanded Serbia release the detained police officers, who are ethnic Albanians, while Kosovo must in turn suspend police operations near municipal buildings in the north of the country and relocate the elected mayors to other locations outside Serb-majority towns.

Kosovo has also detained a number of ethnic Serbs in an investigation related to attacks on NATO peacekeepers in May. Serbia has asked for their release.

(Updates with released police officers arriving in Kosovo from first paragraph.)

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