Zubin Potok under investigation for war crimes, 13 arrested so far

The number of people arrested on suspicion of war crimes in Zubin Potok has risen to 13, after today’s operation in which nine people were arrested.

The arrests were carried out as part of investigations into the criminal offense of “War crimes against the civilian population”, while the case relates to investigations into the events of 1999 in this municipality, as Telegrafi writes.

The latest nine arrests were made today in an operation by the Kosovo Police and the Special Prosecution, while the suspects are being investigated for the criminal offense of “War crimes against the civilian population”.

Today’s operation, codenamed “File 23”, relates to the case known as the “Intellectuals Group”.

Before this operation, four other people had been arrested in Zubin Potok on suspicion of war crimes.

Initially, in this case, during August three people were arrested – J.R., M.J. and M.B. They are suspected of involvement in war crimes against the civilian population and were placed in detention.

On September 3, investigators of the War Crimes Investigation Directorate, by order of the Special Prosecution, also arrested R.K., suspected of the same criminal offense.

Thus, to date, a total of 13 people have been arrested in Zubin Potok as part of the war crimes investigations.

The investigations are being conducted by the Kosovo Police and the Special Prosecution, while the authorities are working to clarify the circumstances and the responsibility of each suspect.

As part of the war crimes investigations in Zubin Potok, authorities have also found mortal remains believed to belong to 23 people in three different locations.

So far, the identity of three of the victims has been confirmed through DNA analysis. The victims were identified as members of the “Intellectuals Group”, who were abducted and disappeared on April 19, 1999.

The process of identifying the other victims is ongoing.

In August this year, authorities carried out excavations in Kalludër and Jabuka in Zubin Potok, where they discovered three mass graves and found the mortal remains of at least 23 people. Samples of the remains were then sent to The Hague, Netherlands, for identification through DNA.

According to the Institute for Crimes Committed During the War in Kosovo, 1,577 people remain missing from the 1998–1999 war, while a total of 12,230 war victims have been documented.

Kosovo has continuously asked Serbia for cooperation in clarifying the fate of missing persons and access to military archives which, according to the authorities, could help identify the locations of possible graves.