Kosovo Police Inspectorate. Photo: BIRN
Kosovo’s Police Inspectorate (IPK) said on Tuesday that it had recommended the suspension of two officers following an investigation into allegations made by Nenad Raskovic, a Kosovo Serb, on August 11.
Raskovic has alleged that he was physically assaulted by police officers during a raid on his home in the village of Dren, near the northern municipality of Zubin Potok. The inspectorate launched its investigation on August 12 following media reports about the incident.
Photographs shared in the media and on social networks show injuries on Raskovic’s back.
“Today [Tuesday], the IPK recommended that the Kosovo Police suspend two police officers from the North Mitrovica Regional Police Directorate, suspected of being involved in this case in connection with the criminal offence of ‘mistreatment in the exercise of official duties or public authority’,” the inspectorate said in a statement.
The IPK, an independent institution overseeing police conduct, said further investigative activities will be carried out in cooperation with the Basic Prosecution in Mitrovica “to establish the full circumstances of the incident and determine the actions of the police officers involved”.
The Belgrade-backed Kosovo Serb party Srpska Lista said on August 11 that Raskovic reported that police officers entered his home in Dren during a raid and, after searching the property, began beating him without explanation.
“After that, Nenad was left tied to a tree. With the help of friends, he was freed and taken to the Family Medical Centre in Zubin Potok, and then to the Clinical Hospital Centre in Mitrovica,” said Srpska Lista.
Raskovic also made these allegations while speaking to the media from the hospital. He was later sent to Belgrade for further treatment.
The Kosovo Police confirmed that Raskovic’s home was among the properties searched during an operation. Erduan Baliqi, a police spokesperson, told BIRN that the searches were conducted as part of an operation related to information about weapons.
Srpska Lista called on Western embassies and international organisations, as well as NATO-led KFOR peacekeepers and the EU rule-of-law mission EULEX, to examine the allegations and act within their respective mandates to establish the facts and ensure the rights and safety of the public.
Civil society organisations in northern Kosovo, where Serbs form the majority, have also called on the European Union to assess EULEX’s monitoring of the Kosovo Police.
