The Minister of Justice of Kosovo, Albulena Haxhiu, said on Wednesday that it is unlikely that Serbia will respond to the request of the Kosovo authorities for the extradition of the citizens of Kosovo,
who are being held in custody in Serbia, due to ongoing legal non-cooperation.

“We still haven’t received an answer. I cannot say that we will have an answer or not, but considering that there has been a continuous refusal for legal cooperation… of course it is very difficult that we can have an answer”, she said.

At the beginning of this week, Haxhiu said that he asked his Serbian counterpart through a letter last week for the transfer of Kosovo citizens.

Four citizens of Kosovo are currently in detention in Serbia under charges of war crimes: Nezir Mehmetaj, Hasan Dakaj, Sadik Duraku and Tefik Mustafa.

The Kosovar authorities have described as arbitrary and unjust the arrest of Kosovar citizens in Serbia on charges of war crimes. They have requested the help of the international factor for their release.

Earlier, the Prime Minister of Kosovo, Albin Kurti, said that Kosovo has internationally recognized jurisdiction over the treatment of crimes committed within its territory.

Serbia, in its 2021-2026 national strategy for prosecuting war crimes, claims that it has jurisdiction to bring justice to crimes committed during armed conflicts in the 1990s.