EULEX releases one Serb, keeps another detained

BELGRADE A EULEX pre-trial judge at the Mitrovica Basic Court ordered one month of detention on remand for Zarko Veselinovic. At the same time, Slobodan Repic was released from police custody, it was announced on Wednesday. EULEX releases one Serb, keeps another detained Veselinovic and Repic were arrested Monday in Rudare near Zvecan, northern Kosovo, by members of EULEX and the Kosovo police on the suspicion they were involved the attempted murder of Dusan Milisavljevic, deputy director of the "Mitrovica North Administrative Office". "The court's decision is quite unusual as Veselinovic got one month of detention for the unlawful possession of a single gun. In the past ten years, no one in Kosovo has spent a month in detention for one gun," defense counsel Ljubomir Pantovic told reporters. He added that the offense in question commands a fine, but that for some unknown reason, the court ordered detention even though it dismissed suspicion of murder. Pantovic said lawyer Miodrag Brkljac will appeal the detention ruling. Brkljacr told Tanjug that one of the reasons for the detention is Veselinovic's attempt to run from the police on Friday in Rudare. "The judge considered that there was sufficient risk of tampering with evidence by Veselinovic, especially given the fact that during detention he contracted third parties warning them about criminal proceedings," reads the release. "Furthermore, the judge established that there is a risk of flight due to an attempt to evade capture during the arrest,“ adds the EULEX release. "The prosecution application for detention on remand for Repic was rejected as ungrounded. The pre-trial judge did not consider that sufficient grounds of evidence tampering and re-offending were established for Repic," EULEX's argument reads. The prosecution and defendants have 24 hours since the delivery of the decision to file an appeal, the release reads. Immediately following the arrests of Veselinovic and Repic on Monday, Serbs blocked the Pristina-Raska road at Rudare. The locals standing watch at the roadblock are demanding that Repic and Veselinovic be released pending trial. Otherwise, they are threatening to block major roads in all four Serb-majority municipalities in northern Kosovo. The road has remained blocked since Monday and KFOR and EULEX have not been using it. Tanjug

EULEX releases one Serb, keeps another detained

Veselinović and Repić were arrested Monday in Rudare near Zvecan, northern Kosovo, by members of EULEX and the Kosovo police on the suspicion they were involved the attempted murder of Dušan Milisavljević, deputy director of the "Mitrovica North Administrative Office".

"The court's decision is quite unusual as Veselinović got one month of detention for the unlawful possession of a single gun. In the past ten years, no one in Kosovo has spent a month in detention for one gun," defense counsel Ljubomir Pantović told reporters.

He added that the offense in question commands a fine, but that for some unknown reason, the court ordered detention even though it dismissed suspicion of murder.

Pantović said lawyer Miodrag Brkljač will appeal the detention ruling.

Brkljačr told Tanjug that one of the reasons for the detention is Veselinović's attempt to run from the police on Friday in Rudare.

"The judge considered that there was sufficient risk of tampering with evidence by Veselinović, especially given the fact that during detention he contracted third parties warning them about criminal proceedings," reads the release.

"Furthermore, the judge established that there is a risk of flight due to an attempt to evade capture during the arrest,“ adds the EULEX release.

"The prosecution application for detention on remand for Repić was rejected as ungrounded. The pre-trial judge did not consider that sufficient grounds of evidence tampering and re-offending were established for Repić," EULEX's argument reads.

The prosecution and defendants have 24 hours since the delivery of the decision to file an appeal, the release reads.

Immediately following the arrests of Veselinović and Repić on Monday, Serbs blocked the Priština-Raska road at Rudare.

The locals standing watch at the roadblock are demanding that Repić and Veselinović be released pending trial.

Otherwise, they are threatening to block major roads in all four Serb-majority municipalities in northern Kosovo.

The road has remained blocked since Monday and KFOR and EULEX have not been using it.