U. S. Embassy Notes Anniversary Of The Bytyqi Brothers Execution In Serbia

U.S. Ambassador Michael C. Polt today urged Serbian authorities to quickly complete their investigation into the disappearance and subsequent killings of Yili, Mehmet and Agron Bytyqi -- three American citizen brothers who were brutally executed in Serbia six years ago this week.

The bodies of the three brothers were discovered in July 2001 in a mass grave in rural Petrovo Selo, Serbia, near a Serbian police facility. The bodies were found with their hands bound and with gunshot wounds to their heads.

Although there is currently a Serbian investigation underway, to date there have been no indictments issued since the killings six years ago.

The Ambassador urged the Serbian authorities to "solve this case rapidly, no matter where the evidence may lead, prosecute the perpetrators of this criminal act, and bring justice and closure to the Bytyqi family."

The three brothers were born in the U.S. and resided in New York prior to going to Kosovo during the conflict in 1999. On June 26, 1999, after NATO's campaign had ended, they were arrested by Serbian officials at the administrative border with Serbia for violating the Law on Movement and Stay of Aliens.

On June 27, the brothers were sentenced in Prokuplje to 15 days in prison. On July 8, four days before the expiration of their sentence, they were taken by Serbian officials to the Petrovo Selo facility, illegally detained, and subsequently executed.