Minister of Justice of Montenegro, Marko Kovač, has refused to extradite to Kosovo the Serbian citizen Momčilo Vukotić, 61 years old, suspected of war crimes in the territory of Peja in 1999. Montenegrin Ministry has confirmed the rejection to Radio Free Europe.
According to the Ministry, the legal conditions for extradition have been met, but Minister Kovač refused his extradition, as he thinks that the European Convention on Human Rights has been violated.
“In the decision of the Special Prosecutor’s Office of Kosovo for the initiation of investigations, it is not stated what actions Vukotić did, which are part of the criminal offences, but it is said that after 24 years, a witness has allegedly appeared who recognized him from his photo in an album”, said the Ministry.
Vukotić was arrested on September 25 and extradited detention was ordered against him.
He was wanted by Interpol through UNMIK, the United Nations Mission in Kosovo, on suspicion of war crimes against the civilian population.
Kosovo has no direct connection with Interpol, but communicates with it through UNMIK.
After his arrest, one of the leaders of the recently disbanded pro-Russian and pro-Serb Democratic Front, Milan Knezhević, called on the technical government of Dritan Abazović not to participate in the arrest of Serbs and Montenegrins displaced from Kosovo.
“This will further destabilize the bad political situation in Montenegro,” Knezhević said.
He called on all displaced Serbs and Montenegrins who are in Montenegro to contact his party, so that can be offered any kind of help and protection to them.
Knezhević said that at the request of Pristina, two Serbs resettled in Montenegro – Živko Vuksanović and Momčillo Bulatović – were arrested for suspected war crimes after two and a half decades.
He assessed the arrests of these persons as “terror against the Serbian people that is trying to spread in Montenegro”.
Since the end of the war in Kosovo, about 70 people have been convicted of war crimes before local and international institutions.
From 2000 to 2008, war crimes in Kosovo were investigated by the United Nations Mission, while from 2008, the European Union Rule of Law Mission was responsible for war crimes investigations.
In 2018, this mission submitted documents to the Kosovo Prosecutor’s Office and local courts.
Ten days after Vukotić, the citizen of Kosovo with the initials I.B., 48 years old, suspected of war crimes in Kosovo, was also arrested in Montenegro.
