Serb returnee mugged in Kosovo

A prospective Serb returnee, Zarko Orovic, has been beaten up and robbed in the middle of Istok in Kosovo, Beta reports. The attack was confirmed to Beta by Veton Elshani who said that after the incident one person had been taken into custody, while another was still on the run. Serb returnee mugged in Kosovo Orovic’s wife, Svetlana, said that her husband had been assaulted and robbed by an Albanian in the center of the town. "We want to return to Dobrusa village near Istok, and that’s why Zarko and I came to Istok from Pec on Tuesday by taxi, to inquire about the conditions regarding our return,” Mrs. Orovic told Beta. She said that at the end of the ride the taxi driver had asked them whether they wanted him to wait for them, to which they had replied that there was no need as they did not know how long they would be in the municipal office. Mrs. Orovic added that after their conversation with people responsible for returnees to Istok, they headed towards the bus stop to wait for the bus back to Pec. "We passed near the taxi rank, where we saw the taxi driver that had brought us. He was speaking to a man who then came up to us and asked my husband his name, and asked Zarko for his ID card. My husband was scared, and he took out his ID along with some money,” the victim’s wife recalled. According to Mrs. Orovic, the assailant took EUR 350, looked at the man’s ID and told the taxi driver: “His name really is Zarko.” After that he threw Mr. Orovic on to the bonnet of one of the taxis, punched him until he fell to the ground, whereupon he started kicking him. Svetlana Orovic said that she assumed that her husband had been attacked because his brother had worked for the police prior to the war in 1999. According to her, they managed to reach the police station and report the attack. Officers took them to hospital where Orovic was treated for broken ribs and facial injuries. Mrs. Orovic said that they had then gone to the Pec monastery where they are currently staying, because they do not have enough money to return to Podgorica where they have been living since fleeing Kosovo. Elshani confirmed that the police had taken the taxi driver into custody in Istok, but that they were still searching for the attacker.

Serb returnee mugged in Kosovo

Orović’s wife, Svetlana, said that her husband had been assaulted and robbed by an Albanian in the center of the town.

"We want to return to Dobrusa village near Istok, and that’s why Žarko and I came to Istok from Peć on Tuesday by taxi, to inquire about the conditions regarding our return,” Mrs. Orović told Beta.

She said that at the end of the ride the taxi driver had asked them whether they wanted him to wait for them, to which they had replied that there was no need as they did not know how long they would be in the municipal office.

Mrs. Orović added that after their conversation with people responsible for returnees to Istok, they headed towards the bus stop to wait for the bus back to Peć.

"We passed near the taxi rank, where we saw the taxi driver that had brought us. He was speaking to a man who then came up to us and asked my husband his name, and asked Žarko for his ID card. My husband was scared, and he took out his ID along with some money,” the victim’s wife recalled.

According to Mrs. Orović, the assailant took EUR 350, looked at the man’s ID and told the taxi driver: “His name really is Žarko.”

After that he threw Mr. Orović on to the bonnet of one of the taxis, punched him until he fell to the ground, whereupon he started kicking him.

Svetlana Orović said that she assumed that her husband had been attacked because his brother had worked for the police prior to the war in 1999.

According to her, they managed to reach the police station and report the attack. Officers took them to hospital where Orović was treated for broken ribs and facial injuries.

Mrs. Orović said that they had then gone to the Peć monastery where they are currently staying, because they do not have enough money to return to Podgorica where they have been living since fleeing Kosovo.

Elshani confirmed that the police had taken the taxi driver into custody in Istok, but that they were still searching for the attacker.