Kosovo office head "confident" Serbs will "prove innocence"

Kosovo office head "confident" Serbs will "prove innocence"

He added that Serbia demands that they be released pending trial and be allowed sufficient time to prepare their defense.

After attending the first hearing in the case against the five Serbs, Đurić pointed out that the prosecution had 15 years to gather the evidence which he doubts to be solid. On the other hand, the defendants were given only 30 days to offer proof of their innocence, said Đurić.

We absolutely reject the criminalization of what Serbs had done to defend themselves while trying to survive in the north of Kosovo, as well as the attempts to create an artificial balance between the acts of criminals, incidentally of Albanian ethnicity, and this case, said Đurić.

Balance cannot be created by putting innocent people behind bars, he stressed, noting that the Serbian government offered political and legal guarantees for Ivanović's release pending trial.

All our political and legal efforts are directed towards helping those who have been incarcerated and put on trial under extremely dubious circumstances, stressed Đurić.

Ivanović's detention has been extended in the meantime by another two months, to October 26. The crimes for which the five Serbs are charged are punishable with five years to life in prison.

Commenting on the north Kosovo Serbs' cooperation with the EU's rule of law mission in Kosovo (EULEX), Đurić said that Serbs have voiced their concern over certain actions by EULEX over the past several weeks. It is no secret that there is not enough trust between part of the Kosovo citizens and EULEX, he added.

"I think that some of the responsibility lies with the members of this mission, with their officials, whose behavior should not create more insecurity but ensure a normal course of the political dialogue between Belgrade and Priština, which is intended to bring about normalization and not deeper division and fear,” said Đurić.