The President of the Republic of Kosovo, Vjosa Osmani, said that the arrests of our citizens by Serbian authorities while crossing the border are arbitrary actions, similar to those chauvinistic ones of the 1990s.
President Osmani wrote:
The arrests of our citizens by the Serbian authorities during the border crossings are arbitrary actions, similar to the chauvinistic ones of the 1990s. Serbia is not interested in human rights, international conventions, nor European standards. As is being proven more day by day, the only mentality that suits it is that of dictatorships with the spirit of the past.
Such is also the arrest of the Kosovo citizen Arbnor Spahiu, which was made on completely false grounds and accusations. This act has nothing to do with the rule of law, but with the continuation of old practices of a regime that refuses to face the past and that misuses the law to threaten our citizens.
Serbia must immediately stop its campaign of political arrests against Kosovo citizens and be held internationally accountable for its arbitrary actions. These actions not only impede freedom of movement, but also jeopardize any efforts for dialogue and normalization of relations.
During the last days, in addition to ongoing contacts with the Liaison Office of the Republic of Kosovo in Belgrade, we have also called for a strong response from the Quint countries and the EU Mission, so that these human rights violations by Serbia are not ignored.
At the same time, I reiterate my call to our citizens to avoid traveling through Serbia, being aware of the arbitrary practices of unjustified arrests as well as the destabilizing tendencies of this state.
