Ombudsman: Serb Protestors, Detainees Being Terrorized in Kosovo

Zoran Pasalic (Beta/Zoran Djordjevic)

In a statement for the June 10 edition of the Vecernje Novosti daily, Serbian Ombudsman Zoran Pasalic said that the Serbs protesting in Kosovo and those who have been arrested are being tortured as defined by Article 1 of the European Convention for the Prevention of Torture and Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment.

Explaining that said document prohibits inflicting physical and/or mental or emotional suffering – which Kosovo Serbs are being subject to – Pasalic told the paper that he wrote to the U.N. Subcommittee on the Prevention of Torture (SPT) and its European counterpart, the ESPT, and is “hoping they will do their job,” but promised to continue pressuring them until they act. So far, he said, the SPT stated it would notify its membership of the complaint.

Pasalic also contacted the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), but failed to receive a concrete response.

“We are dissatisfied. . . We want tangible action,” he said, adding: “On [June 10] we will contact individually the other bodies that deal with the protection of human rights. We’ve also written to the global and European associations of ombudsmen.”

Asked whether he or someone from his office can somehow visit Kosovo and Metohija, Pasalic responded that they have been trying to. Their latest attempt, he explained, was a request submitted by Belgrade’s liaison officer in Pristina, who asked to visit the Serbs detained in Kosovo.

“We’re still waiting for an answer. I’ll [put in a request] as well and, if we succeed, we’ll go together to determine their health and see how the prisoners are being treated,” Pasalic added.