BELGRADE, March 1 (Reuters) - Serbia has arrested two people suspected of killing in 1999 three imprisoned Albanian brothers who were American citizens, a Serbian court said on Wednesday.
The bodies of the three brothers of the Bitici family -- Agron, Mehmet and Ilijem -- were found in 2001 in mass graves alongside Kosovo Albanian victims trucked over to Serbia during the 1998-99 conflict in the province of Kosovo.
The three brothers strayed into Serb-controlled territory in Kosovo in 1999 and were sentenced to 17 days imprisonment but when they were released they were taken away and shot, human rights activists say.
The graves were discovered by reformers after they ousted former Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic, who is on trial at the U.N. war crimes tribunal in the Hague for atrocities committed in Kosovo, Bosnia and Croatia.
"Acting on the request of the war crimes prosecutor the investigative judge interrogated the suspects and decided to launch an investigation against them and remand them in custody," the district court said in a statement.
The U.S. embassy in Belgrade welcomed the arrests.
"We applaud the Serbian authorities for taking this important step toward bringing this investigation to a close, and hope all individuals involved -- regardless of their current or previous rank or position ... will be rapidly brought to justice," it said in a statement.
It was the second round of arrests in connection with the discovery in 2001 of three pits with remains of more than 800 victims of the 1998-99 Kosovo war.
Nine Serb policemen were arrested in October last year for the murder of 48 Kosovo Albanians found buried in one of the largest graves near Belgrade. The Bitici brothers were found in a smaller pit in Petrovo Selo, in eastern Serbia.
The Serbian war crimes prosecutor's office said in a separate statement it had worked during the two-year investigation into the case with the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) because the brothers were American citizens.
Serbia set up its own war crimes court in 2003 to show it can deal with nationals who committed war crimes during the 1990s and is cooperating with the U.N. tribunal.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
19 comments:
This proves that when there is a will, there is way. Perpetrators of the bigger graves should also be brough to justice. It can be done, if only pressure is applied by the international community. EU shouldn't sign anything with Serbia until all bodies are brought home and the fate of the other missing (Trepca maybe?) is discovered.
One should question why American Citizens were in Kosova in the first place, taking part in a TERRORIST organization (UCK/KLA)in an armed insurrection against the legal authorities of a state.
As a former KFOR member I can state that the true villians in the Kosovar Province were extremist Albanian mafia types. The average Serb and Albanian civilians were equally nice and equally proper. Unfortunately the criminal Albanian gangs run the whole show over there, including the news propoganda.
It is just a shame more people here in the States don't know about the true situation over there.
Because they were Albanians you dummie and they were there to protect the lives of their families from you fricking serbian beasts.... if that's what bothers you. You see what kind of democratic country serbia is. Thats why no one wants to stay with them.
Burn to hell you sick bastards
Maybe you meant "former Serbian army" ...... come on enough with these tricks.
KFOR member, the report above is from Reuters. How does Albanian mafia related to bodies of Albanians in mass graves in Serbia?
They were part of the "Atlantic Brigade" which sent a few hundred Albanian-Americans to fight with the KLA.
These men crossed into Serbia after the war was over. A KLA friend who fought with them said they refused to give up their weapons when the war was over, so maybe they were discovered with weapons in their car.
Serbia was in a state of emergency and these were mercenaries.
KFOR member. . . biatch please!!!
Man, I remeber the day when the Serbs wouldn't even discuss the Kosova/Albanian issue with any Albanian as they considered that a waste of their time. Times have changed though, now they come on Albanian bloggs and whine like bitches.
Yeap, times have changes and its all good.
"How does Albanian mafia related to bodies of Albanians in mass graves in Serbia"
You are a smart serb, why dont you tell us. Maybe there are not related. Maybe you, just like the rest of your people, like to make big deal out of nothing.
Those mass graves were full of albanian inocent people killed by your criminal army. That is what matters.
QUOTE:
They were part of the "Atlantic Brigade" which sent a few hundred Albanian-Americans to fight with the KLA.
These men crossed into Serbia after the war was over. A KLA friend who fought with them said they refused to give up their weapons when the war was over, so maybe they were discovered with weapons in their car.
Serbia was in a state of emergency and these were mercenaries.
END QUOTE
Why do you bother to write when you obviously don't have a clue what happened??? Google it first FFS! Yes they were in the "Atlantiku" brigade and yes they fought in the UCK, but as regular soldiers and not mercenaries. When the war was finished, they went back to their mother in Prizren and she asked them to escort a neighbour who took care of her during the war. The neighbour was a Roma, or a serb-roma as we call them because he was christian orthodox and spoke serbian and he needed protection to the border in Merdare. On the way there, the three brothers were almost killed by "UCK" (thugs pretending to be acting on orders) for escorting an "enemy" but they kept on. Since there was no border crossing, sign or checkpoints at the time, they crossed to Serbia and they were arrested by serb police. Subsequently they were sent to court and senteced to 15 days in prison for entering Serbia without a visa (US citizens needed a visa for SRJ). The neighbour was released and he visited them as often as he could until one day the guardians told him that they were released. The thing was that apparently they were taken away by some serb security officials, shot in could blood and burried in or near one of the mass graves. The trial will tell everything. These guys were heroes in war and peace and both Americans and K-Albanians should be proud of them. God bless their souls!
prior? what are we suppose to get out of this? Your greek brothers in Washington portrayed them as terrorists... but when Serbs really showed their faces, the world understood that these guys were fighting an intolerable regime imposed by animal like people.
Would you mind explaining to me why is a quarter of Serbia in Hague? Do you think that they might have confused KLA with Serbian army/police/mercenaries/prisoners/unemployed/thieves/mafia/priests? Knowing the rest of the world's intentions to destroy serbs I wouldnt be surprised.
>>>i wonder how many more American and foreign citizens are in Serbias mass graves<<<
hahahahahahah
LOL
o, fauna, you made my day...:)))
thanks!!!
Fucktart..the word foreigner implies to everyone but serbs. It can be Bosniacs, Croatians, Hungarians, Albanians...etc.
Mir, I'm glad the UçK was labeled terrorist group while your precious Chetniks are Jihad Fighters who will go to heaven. May God bless the shithole the slavic scum call servia.
Once again, Pavarsi, accept it, or suck my DICK..follow up with ice cream.
The myth still continues..
albsoul,
mos u ngut me kcy si plaka n'k**. tipi po rren qe o prej KFORIT. une u bona sarkastik kur veta cka ka lidhje mafia me kufomat e shqiptareve n'serbi. n'njejten menyre reagut edhe ndaj faunes. nuk e di a u pergjigj qika a jo po fauna eshte emer shqiptar edhe fauna eshte shqiptare. keshtu pra chill outni e merreni kete pune shtrute. t'shajtnet e kercenimet lejuni shkijeve - na jemi mbi ta. lejojeni kete blog me qene vend ku t'hujt mujin me ardhe me vizitu edhe me mesu sendet t'reja qe ndoshta agjensite nuk i raportojne. edhe shume po ju ngulni shkijeve. tipi qe e kallxoi humaninetin e 3 ushtareve t'UCKs m'preki shume. n'ate menyre fitohet n'propagande.
6:06,
I remember that day too. I remember when we had to protest for a week so that we were allowed into our classrooms. Look at Serbia know, being sued on all sides . This what too high of a self esteem and greed turns you into. I hope JAT establishes a direct line to Hague for the lawyers from Belgrade.
Mir claimed: "You all do know that UCK was branded as a terrorist organization prior to the 1999 bombings?"
By Serbia's government ONLY! There were attempts by Serbia to convince world bodies to add KLA to a list, but it did not work for them...
I am sorry, I lied. Montenegro had branded them terrorists as well.
>>>Fucktart..the word foreigner implies to everyone but serbs. It can be Bosniacs, Croatians, Hungarians, Albanians...etc.<<<
hahahahaha
yea right.... maybe aborigins, zulu, or even chechens....
(still) LOL
:)))
"At 4:46 PM, Anonymous said...
As a former KFOR member I can state that the true villians in the Kosovar Province were extremist Albanian mafia types. The average Serb and Albanian civilians were equally nice and equally proper. Unfortunately the criminal Albanian gangs run the whole show over there, including the news propoganda.
It is just a shame more people here in the States don't know about the true situation over there."
Im also a former KFOR and it is strange to me that the albanian people dont know what is obvious for people who has been there working. They only blame the serbs, and many of those things are true. But the fact is that they are absolutely not better themself, and the world knows that.
Independence ? We will see. I would never bet my dollars on it. No way !
Guys we all need to chill out, our country will one day become independent just be patient.
Then after we get the independence, those serbs that live in KS better get the f out.
There wont be place for you to live in KS
ILIR ALBA, are you a serb or a "serb"? Either way, you buzz off to whatever century you came from and leave us kosovar Albanians alone. No one will have to leave Kosovo if God and our allies help us establish an independent democratic state.
Post a Comment