The EULEX and Kosovo police arrested the deputy head of the Kosovo Liberation Army War Veterans Association (OVL), Nasim Haradinaj. This is the third arrest of KLA veterans in two days, following those of Salih Mustafa and Hysni Gucati, who were transferred to The Hague.
Haradinaj held a press conference before the arrest, in which he stated that the OVL do not recognize the Hague based Specialist Chambers, which is set to try war crimes allegedly committed by KLA members.
As EULEX police were still inside the HQ office of the KLA veterans Association, after the arrest of its head, Hysni Gucati, Haradinaj showed strong criticism of the event.
“Is a person allowed to enter in the other’s bedroom without knocking first? This is EULEX’s behavior, because they do not consider us as human beings,” Haradinaj said. “This is not our court, therefore we don’t recognize it,” he added.
Haradinaj stated that he personally was never summoned from the Specialist Prosecutor’s Office, while he added that he would not go himself unless he is arrested.
“We do not recognize this court. This (what happened today) makes us think whether we have a state, state’s bodies, parliament and constitution,” he said.
The functioning of the Kosovo Specialist Chambers was enabled after the voting of the Kosovo Parliament in 2015.
“Our parliament does not dare to vote for anything but what is asked from the tutor,” Haradinaj stated.
The raid in the offices of the KLA War Veterans Association by the EULEX police was still ongoing, while a number of veterans gathered in front of the building.
Haradinaj was arrested shortly after his statement, while entering the building of a Kosovo television.
