On the 22nd anniversary of the killing of the three Bytyqi brothers by the Serbian police, the US embassy in Belgrade once again called on Serbia to investigate the case and punish the perpetrators of the crime.
On Thursday, the embassy recalled the killing of Ylli (21), Agron (23), and Mehmet Bytyqi (21) while in the custody of Serbian special police.
Their bodies were discovered two years later in a mass grave containing the bodies of more than 70 other Albanians, located in a Serbian base under the control of a unit led by Goran Radosavljević – Guri.
To this day, Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić refuses to extradite Radosavljević to the US to face charges.
The three Chicago-born brothers of Albanian descent traveled to Kosovo to join the Kosovo Liberation Army in their war against the brutal Serbian regime of Slobodan Milosevic. They were arrested by the Serbian police and were later shot in the head with their hands tied behind their backs.
Serbia hasn’t carried out a full investigation in the 22 years since the killing, despite repeated pressure by the United States.
“We cannot and will not forget this crime,” the US embassy stated on Thursday, adding that the case remains a priority in relations between the two countries.
“This case, and many others, illustrate the urgent need for Serbia to resolve outstanding war crimes investigations and focus on strengthening the rule of law,” they stated.
More than 1,600 people are still missing in Kosovo after the war with Serbia.
Serbian troops killed at least 8,676 Albanian civilians, expelled nearly half of the roughly 2 million population to neighboring countries, and several hundreds of thousands more were internally displaced. They raped over 20,000 Albanian women and destroyed nearly 40 percent (92 thousand) of houses and half of the mosques (225) in Kosovo.
Read more:
