Kosovo Serb whose arrest sparked crisis released as tensions remain high
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Pedestrians walk past a new road barricade set up in the divided town of Mitrovica, Kosovo on Dec. 28. Photo: Armend Nimani/AFP via Getty Images
A former Kosovo Serb police officer, whose arrest earlier this month prompted fellow Kosovo Serbs to protest and erect road blockades, was released from jail on house arrest Wednesday, AP reported.
Driving the news: Since Dejan Pantić was arrested on Dec. 10 for allegedly assaulting a Kosovo police officer, Kosovo Serbs had demanded his release — a request reiterated by Serbia's President Aleksandar Vučić — as a precondition for taking down the barricades.
- It's not yet clear whether Pantić's release will diffuse the current tensions.
- The decision to release Pantić from detention was criticized by Kosovo government officials.
- "I’m curious to know who is the prosecutor that makes a request and judge who approves a decision to place someone on house arrest when they have a standing terrorism charge,” Kosovo Prime Minister Albin Kurti said at a press conference Wednesday, AP reported.
Catch up quick: Tensions between Serbia and Kosovo have been high this year over plans to enforce a law requiring Kosovo Serbs to exchange their Serbian vehicle license plates for Kosovo-issued ones.
- While the Kosovo government has postponed the law's enforcement to next April, in November large swaths of Kosovo Serbs resigned from their positions in state institutions in protest of the measure.
- Pantić left the police at the time as part of the mass withdrawal, Reuters reported.
- Kosovo authorities have accused "illegal structures" in northern Kosovo — which is majority-Serb populated — of using targeted arson attacks to instill fear and intimidation among Kosovo Serbs who have duly complied with the new license plate law, Balkan Insight reported.
State of play: Kosovo's Foreign Ministry announced on Tuesday evening that the Merdarë border crossing — the most frequently used crossing between the two countries — had been blocked by "Serbian criminal groups."
- Serbia's Vučić said late Tuesday local time that he was considering a visit to the Kuršumlija municipality where the crossing is located, local news reported.
- Serbia on Monday put its armed forces' combat readiness on the highest level of alert following unverified reports from Serbian state media that Kosovar police forces had opened fire while trying to dismantle a barricade — a claim Kosovo authorities denied, Politico reported.
- KFOR, the NATO peacekeeping force in Kosovo, said earlier this week that indirect gunshots were fired near patrolling NATO troops on Sunday, but no injuries were reported.
- Serbia has increased its troops' combat readiness during tensions with Kosovo more than once in recent years.
What they're saying: The U.S. and European Union issued a joint statement on Wednesday expressing concern "about the continued tense situation in the north of Kosovo."
- "We call on everyone to exercise maximum restraint, to take immediate action to unconditionally de-escalate the situation, and to refrain from provocations, threats, or intimidation," it added.
- "We are working with President Vučić and Prime Minister Kurti to find a political solution in order to defuse the tensions and agree on the way forward in the interest of stability, safety and well-being of all local communities."
