PRIŠTINA (PRISHTINË)

1. Missing
1.1. Killed
1.2. Free
2.2.1. Released by the KLA
2.2.2. Escaped
2.2.3 Set free
3. Detained

PRIŠTINA (PRISHTINË)

1. Missing

Andjelković, Zoran (M, 27), Serb, from Lebane (Lebanë), Priština Municipality – disappeared on 28 March 1999.
Source: Persons missing in relation to the events in Kosovo from January 1998, ICRC

Lazić, Miodrag (M, 40), Serbian Serb, from Niš, Yugoslav Army reservist, brigade psychologist, mobilized on 8 April 1999; Milićević, Miloš (M, 52), Serbian Serb, Yugoslav Army reservist – abducted on 3 May 1999 near Kačikol (Kaqekolë) village, Priština Municipality.

According to the families’ information, Lazić and Milićević were in a blue FAP truck with Prokuplje license plates in a Yugoslav Army column. Soldiers who subsequently returned to Serbia told the families they last saw Lazić and Milićević when the column was attacked near Kačikol village on the road from Priština to Medvedja, Serbia, by armed Albanians wearing Serbian police uniforms. Tomislav Igić was killed in the attack.
Source: HLC, witness statement

Ivezić, Nebojša (M, 25), Serbian Serb, from Prokuplje, Yugoslav Army reservist; Lazić, Batica (M, 26), Serbian Serb, from Pejkovac, Prokuplje Municipality, Yugoslav Army reservist – abducted on 18 May 1999 four kilometers from Priština.

Ivezić, Lazić and another 9 reservists left their army post in a truck on 18 May to buy bread. They were ambushed by the KLA between 5 and 6 p.m. The driver was killed by a sniper, four soldiers were killed in combat, four were able to get away while Ivezić and Lazić disappeared. Ivezić’s uncle stated that 40 reservists from Prokuplje were listed as missing.
Source: HLC, witness statement

Djordjević, Slavko (M), Serb, from Priština – last seen in the Sunčani Breg (Bregu i Diellit) district (SU 2, building 40) after 14 June 1999.
Source: Centar za mir i toleranciju u Prištini [Peace and Tolerance Center in Priština], BLIC, 6 July 1999

Lukić, Slobodan (M), Serb, from Priština (Block 4, apart. 16, Kupusište (Lakrishte) district)) – disappeared after 14 June 1999 in Priština.
Source: Centar za mir i toleranciju u Prištini [Peace and Tolerance Center in Priština], BLIC, 6 July 1999

Maksić, Radomir (M), Serb, from Priština (building No. 3, entrance B, Praskina Vodenica district) – disappeared after 14 June 1999 in Priština.
Source: Centar za mir i toleranciju u Prištini [Peace and Tolerance Center in Priština], BLIC, 6 July 1999

Djukić, Branko (M, 38), Montenegrin, from Priština (Sunčani Breg district), agricultural technician, employed as porter at the Priština Student Hostel – last seen on 15 June 1999.

Djukić’s sister Milena told the HLC that a neighbor asked her brother to drive some belongings in his car to a truck parked some 600 meters from their apartment building on 15 June. They did so at about 5 p.m. and finished loading the things into the truck about 6 p.m. when they separated.

Shortly afterwards, another neighbor saw Djukić driving his Wartburg (license plates PR 168-57) at speed through an intersection and going in the direction of Matičane (Matiqanë) village. The neighbor said there were two men he did not know in the car with Djukić.

The family waited until 8 p.m. for Djukić to return and then reported his disappearance to KFOR. The next day, his brother went with KFOR members to Matičane but failed to find Djukić.
Source: HLC, witness statement

Petrović, Vera (F), Serb, from Priština – disappeared about 4 p.m. on 15 June 1999 in the Ulpijana district while on her way to the Priština hospital.
Source: Teroristi protiv mira [Terrorists Against Peace], POLITIKA, 17 June 1999.

Topić, Zoran (M), Serb, from Priština – last seen about 4 p.m. on 15 June 1999 in the Vranjevac district of Priština.
Source: Apel rodjaka otetih bez rezultata [No Results of Appeal by Relatives of Missing], POLITIKA, 1 July 1999; Terrorists Against Peace, POLITIKA, 17 June 1999

Marulović, Branko (M), Serb, from Priština (Vranjevac district) – disappeared after 15 June 1999 in Priština.
Source: Spisak ubijenih i otetih Srba – Izveštaj episkopa Artemija za zasedanje Svetog episkopalnog sinoda [List of Killed and Abducted Serbs – Bishop Artemije’s Report to the Holy Synod], DANAS, 10-11 June 1999

Milić, Milica (F); Milić Miloš (M), Serbs, from Priština (55 Sitnička (Sitnice) St, Vranjevac district)) – disappeared after 15 June 1999.
Source: Centar za mir i toleranciju u Prištini [Peace and Tolerance Center in Priština], BLIC, 6 July 1999

Grković, Jovo (M), Serb, from Slivovo, Priština Municipality – disappeared after 15 June 1999 in the Priština area.
Source: List of Serbs Kidnapped in Kosovo and Metohija (June-August), KOSOVO.COM

Živić, Nenad (M, 15), Serb, from Priština – last seen on 16 June 199 in Priština.
Source: U Obiliću pronadjena tela šestoro izbeglica [Bodies of Six Refugees Found in Obilić], BLIC, 23 June 1999.

Djokić, Vladimir (M, 55); Spasić, Veljko (M, 40), Serbs, from Priština (Sunčani Breg district), employees of Serbian Power Company, Obilić heating plant – disappeared on 18 June 1999.

Mrs Spasić recounted that her husband and Djokić were last seen in the afternoon of 18 June when they left work for home in Spasić’s blue Zastava 101 (license plates PR 113-22). When her husband failed to arrive, she reported his disappearance to KFOR.

The family subsequently learned that Djokić and Spasić dropped in to see the Djokić family in the Kakrić district (19 Bratstva i Jedinstva St.) and left for Priština about 5 p.m.

On 21 June, a group of five or six armed Albanian civilians entered the Spasić apartment and forcibly ejected Mrs Spasić and her children, and threatened to kill them if they did not move out of Kosovo. Mrs Spasić and the children spent the night with neighbors and fled to Serbia the next day.
Source: HLC, witness statement

Srdić, Stefan (M, 33), Croatian Serb, refugee, placed at the Božur Hotel in Priština – disappeared on 18 June 1999.
Source: Centar za mir i toleranciju u Prištini [Peace and Tolerance Center in Priština], BLIC, 6 July 1999

Radić, Miloš (M), Serb, from Priština – disappeared on 18 June 1999 in Priština.
Source: Church Committee, Kosovo

Dimić, Dragan (M), Serb, from Priština – last seen in central Priština before 20 June 1999.
Source: Priština Peace and Tolerance website

Biočanin, Ljubisav (M, 49), Serb, from Priština (43 Sitnička St.), civilian, crime laboratory technician employed by the Serbian police force - disappeared on 22 June 1999.

Mrs Biočanin stated that her husband left work at 3.15 p.m. on 22 June for the Grand Hotel in Priština where they were staying temporarily. Police Chief Petrović confirmed the time of her husband’s departure from work.

Mrs Biočanin fled Kosovo to Serbia on 28 June 1999.
Source: HLC, witness statement

Stamenković, Žarko (M, 39), Serb, from Devet Jugovića (Ninte Jugoviq), Priština Municipality, employed as a driver with the Priština Post Office – disappeared on 22 June 1999.

According to information gathered by the HLC, Stamenković was last seen on 22 June near Miljevac (Milevcë) village on the road from central Priština to Devet Jugovića. He was driving his dark red VW Polo (license plates PR 40-27).
Source: HLC, witness statement

Stošić, Nebojša (M), Serb, from Priština, university professor – disappeared on 22 June 1999.
Source: Aktivnosti Centra za mir [Activities of the Peace Center], BLIC, 23 June 1999

Tašević, Djordje (M), Serb, from Priština (Lole Ribara St.), medical doctor – disappeared on 23 June 1999.
Source: Centar za mir i toleranciju u Prištini [Peace and Tolerance Center in Priština], BLIC, 6 July 1999; Još trideset Srba u Uroševcu [Thirty Serbs Still in Uroševac], BLIC, 25 June 1999

Mikić, (first name unknown) (F, 18), Serb – disappeared on 24 June 1999.
Source: Centar za mir i toleranciju u Prištini [Peace and Tolerance Center in Priština], BLIC, 6 July 1999

Milančić, Miro (M), Serb, from Priština (Ulpijana district) – disappeared on 25 June 1999.
Source: Centar za mir i toleranciju u Prištini [Peace and Tolerance Center in Priština], BLIC, 6 July 1999

Buljević, Mile (M, 55), Croatian Serb, refugee, placed at the Božur Hotel in Priština – disappeared on 25 June 1999.
Source: Centar za mir i toleranciju u Prištini [Peace and Tolerance Center in Priština], BLIC, 6 July 1999

Sekulić, Gorica (F); her husband Sekulić, Miloš, their four minor children, Serbs, from Priština – disappeared on the night of 25/26 June 1999 in the Dardanija district, Priština.
Source: Orahovčani traže hitnu evakuaciju [Orahovac Serbs Seek Immediate Evacuation], BLIC, 26 June 1999

Arsić, Miloš (M, 84), Serb, from Matičane, Priština Municipality – last seen on 26 June 1999 in a meadow near his home in Matičane.

Arsić’s son stated that his father took their cow to pasture in a meadow some 100 meters from the family’s house in the morning of 26 June. The cow came back alone about 6 p.m. Mrs Arsić called her son and told him his father was missing and he reported the disappearance to KFOR.

Being afraid to go about the village on their own, Mrs Arsić and her son asked KFOR members to accompany them while they searched for Arsić. Their request was denied.
Source: HLC, witness statement

Radić, Milan (M, 39), Croatian Serb, refugee – last seen on 26 June 1999 at the Božur Hotel in Priština.
Source: Centar za mir i toleranciju u Prištini [Peace and Tolerance Center in Priština], BLIC, 6 July 1999; Spisak ubijenih i otetih Srba – Izveštaj episkopa Artemija za zasedanje Svetog episkopalnog sinoda [List of Killed and Abducted Serbs – Bishop Artemije’s Report to the Holy Synod], DANAS, 10-11 June 1999

Mirić, Mladen (M, 50), Serb, from Prizren, painter, jewelry designer for the Trepča company, lived in an apartment in the courtyard of the Church of the Mother of God of Ljeviška in Prizren - disappeared on the Priština-Gračanica road on 29 June.

Mrs Mirić recounted that she and her son left Prizren for Serbia on 14 June and her husband a day later, on 15 June. They were reunited in Belgrade on 18 June. Mirić wished to return to Prizren to collect his paintings, prints and collections of jewelry, national costumes, decorated Easter eggs, antiques, slides of Kosovo art treasures, and the manuscript of his book on the Church of the Mother of God of Ljeviška. He asked the Serbian Artists Association for assistance in transporting the collections to Belgrade and, upon being told they could not help, decided to return by himself.

Mirić reached Priština on 19 June and called his wife to tell of her of his safe arrival. He stayed with his uncle and cousin. As they were afraid to leave the apartment, Mirić went out every day to buy necessities and encountered no problems. He phoned his wife in Belgrade every evening.

On 28 June, he went to Gračanica to attend the St Vitus Day festival and spent the day there. He was to leave for Prizren at 9 a.m. the next day with a Serbian Orthodox Church delegation under KFOR escort. Since there were many guests and displaced from other parts of Kosovo in Gračanica, Mirić could not find a place to stay over night and returned to Priština. He phoned his wife and told her of his plans. His uncle and cousin stated that he left for Gračanica in the morning of 29 June.
Source: HLC, witness statement

Ješić, Marko (M), Yugoslav Army member – last seen in June 1999 in the Vranjevac district, Priština.
Source: OVK otima, KFOR oslobadja [KLA Kidnaps, KFOR Releases], BLIC, 20 June 1999

Kostić, Momir (M, 42), Serb, from Matičane, Priština Municipality, driver with the Žitopromet company in Kosovo Polje – disappeared in June 1999.

A neighbor stated that Kostić left Matičane for Dobrotin (Dobratin), Lipljan Municipality, on 15 June together with the majority of the Serb villagers. He disappeared a few days later when he went back to Matičane to retrieve some belongings.
Source: HLC, witness statement

Stefanović, Jelena (F), Serb, from Priština (Aktaš (Aktash) neighborhood)) – disappeared in June 1999 in Priština.
Source: Church Committee, Kosovo

Rajković, Mirjana (F); Rajković, Slavoljub (M); Rajković Violeta (F), Serbs, from Priština - disappeared in the second half of June 1999 in Priština.
Source: Centar za mir i toleranciju u Prištini [Peace and Tolerance Center in Priština], BLIC, 5 July 1999

Raičević, Zoran (M), Serb, from Priština – last seen in late June 1999 in the Vranjevac district, Priština.
Source: U selu Gotiva oteta porodica Jokić [Jokić Family Kidnapped in Gotiva Village], BLIC, 19 June 1999

Stamenković, Nenad (M), Serb, from Devet Jugovića, Priština Municipality – disappeared in late June 1999 in the Priština area.
Source: List of Serbs Kidnapped in Kosovo and Metohija (June-August), KOSOVO.COM

Maksus, Djulderan (M, 46), Muslim – last seen outside the Kosovo Parliament building in Priština in the second half of June 1999.
Source: Izveštaj o položaju Muslimana-Bošnjaka na Kosovu nakon dolaska KFOR-a [Report on the Position of Bosniac-Muslims in Kosovo Following KFOR’s Deployment], Helsinški odbor za ljudska prava u Sandžaku [Helsinki Committee for Human Rights in Sandžak], October 1999

Buha, Mirko (M, 51), Serb, from Priština – disappeared in late June 1999.
Source: News from Kosovo, KOSOVO DAILY NEWS, 13 December 1999

Čanović, Jelena (F, 71), Serb, from Priština – last seen in early July 1999 in her apartment at the Singles Hotel in the Ulpijana district, Priština.

Just before her disappearance, unidentified persons threatened Mrs. Čanovic with death unless she moved out of Kosovo.
Source: Centar za mir i toleranciju u Priištini [Peace and Tolerance Center in Priština], BLIC, 6 July 1999

Ilić, Milorad (M), Serb, from Priština (Dardanija district) – disappeared in early July 1999 in Priština.
Source: Centar za mir i toleranciju u Prištini [Peace and Tolerance Center in Priština], BLIC, 6 July 1999

Tomić, Časlav (M, 57), Serb, from Priština, owner of Tom-Kom company – last seen between 10 a.m. and noon on 10 July when leaving Priština in a truck with his belongings.
Source: PRAVOSLAVLJE PRESS, 11 July 1999

Marković, A. Zoran (M, 38), Serb, from Priština (Vidovdanska St.) – last seen about 5 p.m. on 11 July in Priština
Source: Priština Peace and Tolerance Center website

Rakočević, Petar (M, 30), Serb, from Devet Jugovića, Priština Municipality, manager of electrical maintenance department, Kosovo A thermo-electric power plant – disappeared on 12 July 1999.

Rakočević went missing on 12 July when he left his workplace to pick up his identity card at the KFOR post inside the power plant compound.
Source: HLC, witness statement

Timotijević, Vojislav (M), Serb, from Novo Brdo – disappeared in the first half of July 1999 in Priština.

Timotijević was in the Priština hospital in July for treatment of a chest disorder. His wife came to visit him on 14 July and was told by staff that he had run away.
Source: Church Committee, Kosovo

Dimić, Svetislav (M, 54), Serb, from Priština (Vidovdanska St.), employee of Obilić thermo-electric power plant – disappeared on 19 July 1999.

A friend of Dimić said he lived alone in a building opposite the Božur Hotel in Priština. He occasionally left his apartment to go shopping, and was in daily contact by telephone with this friend. He told her it was difficult to obtain food and that he was mostly hungry. In early July, he told her a KLA member had moved into the next-door apartment and had promised to leave him alone.

When they spoke on 16 July, Dimić told his friend that the KLA man and his brother-in-law were coming to see him that evening. On 17 July, the last time she spoke with him, Dimić said the KLA man had not come as he went to Drenica to attend some kind of KLA celebration.

She phoned Dimić the next day but received only an engaged signal. Another friend of Dimić went to his apartment to see why he was not answering the phone. There were bullet holes in the front door and the apartment was empty.
Source: HLC, witness statement

Mikić, Svetomir (M, 36), Serb, from Sušica (Sushicë), Priština Municipality, laboratory technician at the Pathology Department, Priština Hospital, chairman of the local branch of the opposition Serbian Renewal Movement in Gračanica – disappeared on 21 July 1999.

Mikić’s sister recounted that she last spoke with her brother at 7.45 a.m. on 21 July. Mikić told her that a neighbor with whom he always went to work had left earlier that day and that he would therefore go alone. Shortly afterwards, Mikić’s fiancée called her to say that she had phoned Mikić at work, that a woman doctor called Danica had answered the phone, said in a panicky voice that she did not know whether Mikić was alive and hung up.

The sister then called the neighbor with whom Mikić went to work. He confirmed that he had left earlier and said he had not seen Mikić that day. He only heard from other residents of the building that Mikić had left about 8 a.m., carrying a Serbian-language newspaper.
Source: HLC, witness statement

Jovanović, Milorad (M, 67), Serb, from Prština – last seen about 11 a.m. on 23 July 1999 in Priština.
Source: Spisak ubijenih i otetih Srba – izveštaj episkopa Artemija za zasedanje Sveto episkopalnog sinoda [List of Killed and Abducted Serbs – report by Bishop Artemije to the Holy Synod], DANAS, 10-11 July 1999

Adžić, Tomislav “Toša” (M, 54), Serb, from Priština (Kičma building, entrance 1, Dardanija district), deputy manager of Jugobanka; Jeton, Ljilja (Jeton, Lila), (M, 46), Albanian, from Priština, employee of Jugobanka – disappeared on 24 July 1999 in Priština.

Adžić’s relative Petar Čolić recounted that the Adžić family left Priština around 10 June and found refuge in Montenegro. Adžić left the keys of his apartment with an Albanian friend, Ljilja Jeton, who looked after it for some 20 days and then brought a relative from Kosovska Mitrovica to stay in the apartment and watch over it.

In the meantime, KLA members moved into the building, ordered Jeton’s relative to vacate the Adžić apartment and gave it to an Albanian, Nuhi Jašanica (Nuhi Jashanica) who had papers showing that the apartment had been allocated to him in 1990. Informed by Jeton of these events, Adžić returned to Priština on 22 July. He reported the case to KFOR and submitted documentation proving his ownership of the apartment. He was told to wait until a court was established and then pursue his case through judicial channels.

With the consent of the new occupant, Adžić with Jeton’s help took some belongings – carpets, paintings, clothing and the like - from his apartment on 24 June to a relative’s home for safekeeping. The relative advised them not to go back for more as it was too dangerous. However, somewhat after 2 p.m., Adžić and Jeton went to the apartment again and did not return.
Source: HLC, witness statement

Stević, Slaviša (M, 37), Serb, from Novi Badovci (Badovëc i Rinj), Priština Municipality, employee of Priština public library, member of the Serbian Fine Arts Association – last seen on 1 August 1999.

Mrs Stević said her son left for Gračanica between 7 and 8 a.m. on 1 August and did not return. He had on him his wallet, ID card and health insurance card.
Source: HLC, witness statement

Pilipović, Rade (M), Serb, from Priština – disappeared on 4 August 1999.
Pilipović was last seen near the Brotherhood and Unity monument in central Priština, waiting for a truck that was to carry his furniture to Serbia.
Source: Centar za mir i toleranciju u Prištini [Peace and Tolerance Center in Priština], POLITIKA, 6 August 1999

Perović, Miroslav (M), Serb – last seen on 10 August 1999 in Laplje Selo, Priština Municipality.
Source: Kosovo and Metohija Events, KOSOVO DAILY NEWS, 17 August 1999

Stanković, Trajko (M, 55), Serb, from Kojlovica (Kolovic), Priština Municipality – disappeared on 11 August 1999 in the Priština area.
Source: List of Serbs Kidnapped in Kosovo and Metohija (June-August), KOSOVO.COM

Stevanović, Dragan (M, 41), Serb, from Kosovo Polje, chemical technician; Majstorović, Ivan (M, 18), Serb, from Priština, high school student – disappeared on 19 August 1999 on the Priština-Podujevo road.

Stevanović and Majstorović left Kosovo Polje for Leskovac (Serbia) in a yellow Yugo (license plate PR 852-16) about 10 a.m. that day. They were last seen by an acquaintance, Ilija Bandjur, at the overpass near the Kosovski Junaci military barracks in Priština. They told Bandjur they were waiting for a Serb official who was in Priština on business, and would continue the journey with him.

The mother of Ivan Majstorović told the HLC that armed Albanians forced them out of their apartment in the Dardanija district (Kičma building, entrance 9, apart. 1104) on 3 July, after which the family moved to Kosovo Polje. Mrs Majstorović and her other son fled to Serbia on 15 July. Ivan followed them on 19 July, travelling with Dragan Stevanović. They were to proceed together with two Serb officials from Kosovo Polje and with a KFOR escort.

Mrs Stevanović was informed by KFOR and Serbian police at the Merdare-Rudare border checkpoint that no car with the license plates PR 852-16 had crossed into Serbia.
Source: HLC, witness statement

Popović, Predrag (M, 41), Serb, from Donja Brnjica (Bernica e Poshteme), Priština Municipality, employee of Devet Jugovića farm cooperative – disappeared on 21 August 1999.

Popović’s uncle told the HLC his nephew was last seen by a neighbor about 7 a.m. on 21 August when he left for work. He met the neighbor on the road, they spoke briefly and the neighbor continued to the village. An Opel Cadet car passed him and when he turned around a few moments later, Popović was no longer on the road. The neighbor thought that he had been picked up by friends and given a ride. Popović did not turn up at his workplace.
Source: HLC, witness statement

Stojković, Dragan (M, 50), Serb, from Priština (22 Mostarska St.), architect – last seen on 28 August 1999 in Priština.

A neighbor told the HLC that Stojković was working for KFOR on a map of Priština, and always wore his KFOR identification badge prominently displayed.
Source: HLC, witness statement

Petković, Gradimir (M), Serb, from Priština (Ulpijana district), sports reporter with the Serbian-language Jedinstvo newspaper – disappeared on 29 August 1999 in Priština.
Source: List of Serbs Kidnapped in Kosovo and Metohija (June-August), KOSOVO.COM

Popović, Milorad (M, 43), Serb, from Priština (Sunčani Breg district), truck driver – last seen on 31 August 1999 on the road from Priština to Novo Brdo.

Popović’s employer K.B. stated that Popović came about 6 a.m. on 31 August for the truck, a red Zastava 640 with an orange tarpaulin. He was scheduled to go to Zebince (Zebnice), Novo Brdo Municipality, to pick up a load of firewood from M.S. and sell it in Laplje Selo near Priština.

Popović returned to Priština about 10 a.m. and told his employer that three Albanian civilians had stopped him outside Gračanica. He knew one of them as he had previously bought firewood from him. The Albanian told Popović that the KLA had imposed a “tax” of five deutsche marks per cubic meter of firewood and said the money should be paid in the Suteska neighborhood of Mramor village, Priština Municipality. According to the Albanian, payment of the “tax” would enable Popović to freely transport and sell firewood. Though his employer advised him not to go to Novo Brdo, Popović said he had to because he had promised to deliver firewood to some people in Laplje Selo. He did not return and his family reported his disappearance to KFOR the next day.
Source: HLC, witness statement

Djordjević, Dragan (M, 49), Serb, from Devet Jugovića, Priština Municipality – last seen on 1 September 1999.
Source: Persons missing in relation to the events in Kosovo from January 1998, ICRC

Nacić, Gorica (F), Serb – disappeared on 2 September in Priština.
Source: Kosovo and Metohija Events, KOSOVO DAILY NEWS, 7 September 1999.

Ristić, Višeslav (M, 56), Serb, from Priština – last seen on 5 September 1999.
Source: Persons missing in relation to the events in Kosovo from January 1998, ICRC

Desani, Šaban (Destani, Shaban) (M, 60); Krueziju, Adem (Kryeziu, Adem) (M, 47); Kači, Derviš (Kaçi, Dervish) (M, 44); Zenuni, Idriz (M, 33), Roma – disappeared after 7 September 1999 in Priština.
Source: Fire Opened on Convoy of Serbs, KOSOVO DAILY NEWS, 14 September 1999

Serdić, Stevo (M), Serb, from Priština – disappeared in the summer of 1999 in Priština.
Source: Church Committee, Kosovo

Petrović, Marija (F, 52), Serb, from Priština (Aktaš district) - disappeared in the summer of 1999 in Priština.
Source: Church Committee, Kosovo

Djordjević, Vesna (F, 42), Serb, from Priština, employee of Djurdjevak kindergarten.
On 16 December 1999, A. B., an amateur radio operator, forwarded what turned out to be the last message from Vesna Djordjević to her parents.
Source: Church Committee, Kosovo

2. Abducted

Jovanović, Krunoslav (M), Serb, from Priština – last seen on 11 June 1999.
The Blic newspaper reported that Jovanović was taken by unidentified persons from the building of the municipal garbage disposal company in Priština on 11 June.
Source: Church Committee, Kosovo; Aktivnosti Centra za mir [Activities of the Peace Center], BLIC, 23 June 1999.

Marković, Branko (M, 38), driver, employee of Radio Priština; Dimitrijević, Milutin (M, 66); his son Dimitrijević, Dragan, Serbs, from Priština; their relative Rajičić, Zoran (M, 31), Serbian Serb, from Aleksandrovac, former police officer – last seen in the Vranjevac district of Priština on 12 June 1999.

A friend of the four men told the HLC that they were last seen on an intersection in the Vranjevac district where they were stopped by the KLA and taken to the Zejhan Hajdit elementary school. The abduction was witnessed by an acquaintance of the friend who watched it from her apartment window.
Source: HLC, witness statement

Mašulović, Miodrag (M, 38), Serb, from Priština (entrance 8, building D1, Ulpijana district), chief of security at Kosmet-Tehna company – abducted on 13 June 1999 in the Vranjevac district of Priština.

Mrs Mašulović said her son left home at 5 p.m. on 12 June in his red WV (license plates PR 123-19) for the Vranjevac district. He and his girlfriend planned to leave Priština the next day and he went to see her to make the final arrangements. When he did not return, his mother thought he had decided to spend the night at his girlfriend’s apartment. The next day, Mrs. Mašulović’s other son came and said he had spoken with his brother’s girlfriend who told him Mašulović had not been to see her. The girlfriend said she had seen KLA members ejecting Serbs from their homes in the Vranjevac district that day.

The next day, Serb acquaintances called Mrs. Mašulović and told her different versions of what had happened to her son. An acquaintance who lived near the Zejhan Hajdit elementary school said she saw KLA members stop Mašulović’s car on the intersection in front of her house, that a man she did not know was with him in the front seat, that the KLA killed this man on the spot, pulled Mašulović out of the car and led him into the school, and drove the car away. Another acquaintance said he had seen the dead bodies of Mašulović and two unidentified men in front of the school.

The bodies were collected by KFOR and Mrs Mašulović was called in to identify her son. His body, however, was not among those found. She and her other son fled Kosovo in July.
Source: HLC, witness statement

Izderović, Slaviša (M, 25), Serbian Muslim, from Novi Pazar, military band instrumentalist, Yugoslav Army lieutenant, lived in the Army’s bachelor quarters in Priština - disappeared in the Vranjevac district on 13 June.

Mr. Izderović stated that K.R. asked his son to help take some belongings from Vranjevac to central Priština. Izderović borrowed an Opel Ascona (license plates PR 203-21) and they left for Vranjevac at 9.30 a.m. on 13 June. K.R. subsequently told the Izderović family that the KLA opened fire at the car about 10 a.m. on the road to Vranjevac and that both he and Izderović were wounded. K.R. managed to get out and hide in a nearby house whose owner tended him until he recovered. Mr. Izderović said his son was in Yugoslav Army uniform and carrying his official-issue pistol at the time of his disappearance.
Source: HLC, witness statement

Milenković, Momir (M, 42), Serb, from Priština (96 Miladina Popovića St.), driver with the Izolacija company – abducted by the KLA on 14 June 1999 in concert with a neighbor.

Milenković’s brother recounted that an Albanian woman neighbor, Bela Vranići (Bella Vraniçi), came to the Milenković house about 4 p.m. on 14 June with two KLA members in black uniforms, saying they wanted to see if there were any belongings stolen from Albanians in the house. Momir Milenković said they were free to search and kill him if they found any stolen goods but, if they found nothing, she deserved a beating. The house was searched, nothing was found and the neighbor left with the KLA men.

Some ten minutes later, at 4.30 p.m., Bela Vraniçi came again to the front door and asked Milenković’s sister-in-law to tell him to come out. A black limousine without license plates was parked at the gate of the Milenković yard and four black-uniformed KLA members, including the two who had previously searched the house, were standing beside it. When Milenković came out, the KLA men seized him, pushed him into the car and drove at speed in the direction of Grmlje, Priština’s Grmlje picnic area. Bela Vraniçi returned to her own home.
The family reported Milenković’s abduction to KFOR the next day and fled Priština to Serbia.
Source: HLC, witness statement

Visoka, Šaban (Visoka, Shaban) (M, 50); his son Visoka, Sami (18), Roma, from Priština – abducted by unidentified persons on 19 June 1999 in Priština.
Unidentified persons came to the house of Šaban Visoka’s friend in Jablanička St., on 19 June, beat up Visoka and his son and took them away.
Source: Priština Peace and Tolerance Center website

Kemalji, Ismailj (Kemali, Ismail) (M, 32), Rom, from Priština (55/a Ace Mrdakovića St.) – abducted on 20 June 1999 in Priština.

Unidentified persons took Kemalji from his home by force about 3 p.m. on 20 June.
Source: Priština Peace and Tolerance Center website

Babić, (first name unknown) (M), Serb, from Priština (Sunčani Breg district), engineer – abducted by unidentified persons on 22 June 1999.
Source: Centar za mir i toleranciju u Priištini [Peace and Tolerance Center in Priština], BLIC, 5 July 1999

Ivanović, Mileta (M); his daughter Ivanović, Jelena, Serbs, from Priština – abducted by unidentified persons from their home in the morning of 22 June.
Source: Aktivnosti Centra za mir [Activities of the Peace Center], BLIC, 23 June 1999

Kovačević, Nebojša (M, 17), Serb, from Priština – abducted on 22 June 1999.

The Blic daily quoted Mrs. Kovačević as saying a group of Albanians forced their way into the Kovačević apartment on 22 June, ordered them to move out, and took away her son.
Source: Aktivnosti Centra za mir [Activities of the Peace Center], BLIC, 23 June 1999

Jovanović, Nikola (M), Serbian Serb from Čarapić Ljubovija Municipality; Capakić, Cepo (M, ethnicity unknown), from Ljubovija – abducted on 23 June 1999.

Jovanović and Capakić were staying at the Božur Hotel, a refugee facility, when they were abducted by unidentified persons in the evening of 23 June.
Source: Petorica ubijenih u Prištini [Five Killed in Priština], BLIC, 25 June 1999

Mikić, Leposava (F, 55); her husband Mikić, Miloš (61), Montenegrins, from Priština (55 Sitnička St., Vranjevac district), both retired; their relative, Tasev, Tome, Macedonian, from Priština (Ulpijana district), train driver – abducted on 23 June 1999.

The Mikićs' son and Mrs. Tasev stated that Tasev came to the Mikić house at 2 p.m. on 23 June to help them move to Kosovo Polje. The Mikićs’ daughter and her husband took some belongings and left in their car. Mr. and Mrs. Mikić planned to go with Tasev in his grey-green Zastava 128 (license plates PR 827-33).

At the gate of the Mikić house, Tasev spoke briefly with an Albanian neighbor, Hakif Bregaja. Bregaja later told relatives that a group of Albanians he did not know came to his house soon after his conversation with Tasev and ordered him to stay indoors until 8 p.m. The Albanians then went into the Mikić house. The neighbor did not know what happened after that.

Milomir Mikić and Mrs. Tasev went to the Mikić house on 24 June and found it ransacked and looted. They reported the disappearances to KFOR and the UNMIK police.
Source: HLC, witness statement

Marković, Tomislav (M, 64), bookkeeper with the farm cooperative; R.J. (F, 60), Serbs, from Devet Jugovića, Priština Municipality – abducted by unidentified Albanians on 24 June 1999 on the road between Čaglavica (Cagllavicë) and Devet Jugovića. R.J. was later found tied up beside the road.

Marković’s daughter recounted that her father was returning to Kosovo on 24 June after visiting relatives in Prokuplje, Serbia. His neighbor, R.J. was traveling with him in his blue Zastava 101 car. They were to wait at the Kosovo boundary for a KFOR escort to their village but were late and the KFOR escort left without them. When they entered Kosovo, they joined a convoy with a KFOR jeep in the van. The convoy reached Podujevo where a group of unidentified Albanian civilians stopped Marković’s car, dragged him and R.J. out and took them away. The abductors were in a van and a passenger car without license plates. One of them drove awayMarković’s car.

Later that day, R.J. was left tied up beside the road. She was found by some people who took her home to Devet Jugovića, where the Marković family was unable to contact her.
Source: HLC, witness statement

Tomanović, Andrija (M, 63), Montenegrin, from Priština, MD, surgeon, Head of Surgery at the Priština Hospital, professor at Priština University Medical School – abducted on 24 June 1999 when leaving work.

Dr. Tomanović phoned his family about 1 p.m. to say he was about to leave for home and would be given a lift by a friend. A surgical nurse at the hospital told the HLC that Dr. Tomanović walked to the main gate of the hospital grounds where KFOR had established a checkpoint.

A second witness, also a surgical nurse, met Dr. Tomanović and was with him until her husband arrived and took her home. She told his family he had stayed to wait for the friend who was to pick him up.

A third witness told the HLC that she saw through a hospital window two unidentified men holding up a limping Dr. Tomanović and leading him away between 3 and 4 p.m. that day. Thinking that he had been taken ill, she ran out and from the door asked, ‘Are you all right, Doctor Tomanović?’ A colleague called her and she went back into the building and saw through the window when the men pushed Tomanović into a beige Renault automobile. The colleague, who also watched, said one of the abductors was a surgeon, Ibiš (Ibish), who used to work at the hospital.
Source: HLC, witness statements

Todorovski, Aleksandar (M, 29), Serb, from Priština, dentistry student, worked as dental technician at the Emergency Medical Care and Ambulance Service in Priština, son of Dr. Milivoj Todorovski, Head of Emergency Medical Care and Ambulance Service; abducted on 25 June.

Mrs. Todorovski said her son was on duty on the night of 24/25 June. He left between 8 and 9 a.m. the next morning in a Peugeot ambulance driven by Suljejman Djata (Sulejman Xhata) but did not return to his home.

Dr. Todorovski asked Suljejman Djata and Dr. Suljejman Beci (Sulejman Beci), who emigrated to Albania in 1991 and returned to Kosovo following the deployment of KFOR, about the circumstances of his son’s disappearance. The driver refused to answer his questions and Dr. Beci denied any knowledge of the abduction. Dr. Todorovski, however, believes that Dr. Beci knows who kidnapped his son as he asked him, ‘What did Aleksandar think he was doing in Kosovo with an identity card issued in Belgrade?’
Source, HLC, witness statement

Šaranović, Stanko (M, 46) Serb, from Priština, employee of Beopetrol – abducted on 27 June 1999 in Priština.

Šaranović’s friend Dragan recounted that he and Šaranović decided on 27 June to move belongings from their apartments to the nearby village of Donja Konjuša (Konjushë e Ulët). At 1 p.m., Dragan drove a carload to the village while Šaranović stayed in Dragan’s apartment (Karadjordja Petrovića St.) with an Albanian neighbor, R.R. On his return about 7 p.m., Dragan found the apartment ransacked although there were no signs of a forcible entry. Šaranović was not there. He called Šaranović’s brother who said R.R. had phoned between 4 and 5 p.m. and told him that four unidentified Albanians in civilian clothes came to the apartment and gave Šaranović 15 minutes to move out. When Šaranović explained that the apartment was not his, the Albanians ransacked it. They beat up R.R. and pushed him down the basement stairs, and drove Šaranović away. Dragan called R.R. to learn more but R.R. said he was afraid to tell him anything. Leaving the building at 10 p.m., Dragan noticed a grey Opel Cadet with four men inside parked in front. In order not to be observed by them, he did not switch on the light at the entrance and was able to get away. He immediately reported the abduction of Šaranović to KFOR.
Source: HLC, witness statement

Djosić, Zoran (M, 56), Serb, from Priština, employee of the State Auditing Office – abducted on 28 June 1999 in Priština.³⁰
Source: HLC, witness statement

³⁰  Witness statement on the abduction of Djošić: Priština, 2.1. Killed.
 

Barač, Djuro (M, 35); Prusac, Nenad (M, 30), Croatian Serbs, refugees – abducted on 28 June 1999 in Priština.

Barač and Prusac, 1995 refugees from Croatia, were placed in the Technical School in Priština which served as a refugee facility. In his statement to the HLC, Barač’s father said a group of Albanians stormed into the school on 28 June and ejected the refugees. The refugees were then placed by KFOR and the UNHCR at the Božur Hotel in Priština, where they were again harassed by Albanians. Barač and Prusac had agreed with a truck driver from Kuršumlija (Serbia) that he would come on 28 June to drive them and their belongings to Serbia. They left the hotel at about 8 a.m. to find a pay phone and inquire whether the driver had left for Priština. Shortly afterwards, Barač’s father, who was waiting for his son at the hotel, heard from some Albanians that his son and Prusac had been stopped by a group of Albanians at the intersection between the museum and mosque, forced into an automobile and driven away. That same evening, several Albanians entered the hotel through a window and stole the refugees’ belongings and the humanitarian aid they had received.
Source: HLC, witness statement

Spasić, Dragan (M); Bakić, Azra (F), Roma, from Priština (10 Ibarska St., Lapska Džamija (Xhamija e Llapit) district)) – abducted in June 1999.

Spasić’s daughter stated that her father and stepmother were abducted in June when about 20 Albanians, some in KLA uniforms, forced their way into the Spasić house. The Albanians beat them all, demanding the names of persons who had killed and robbed Albanians in Priština. She recognized among the attackers an Albanian called Fajika from the Dragaš (Dragash) district in Priština. Miss Spasić lost consciousness from the beating and, when she regained it, she found herself in the house of a neighbor. He had carried her to his home after the attackers left the Spasić house, taking Spasić and Azra Bakić with them. Miss Spasić fled to Montenegro after the incident.
Source, HLC, witness statement

Čubanović, Djordje (M, 59), Serb, from Priština (34 Svetosavska St., Dardanija district), employee of Elektrokosovo – last seen on 1 July 1999.

Čubanović’s brother said Čubanović had orders to remove documentation from the building of the Kosovo Provincial Executive Council and deliver it to the Serbian authorities, and planned to leave Priština as soon as he completed the assignment.

He was preparing to leave on 1 July. His friend Ljubiša Vasić was helping him to pack and load belongings into his car in front of the building when they were attacked by three Albanian civilians. Vasić managed to escape and returned shortly with security guards from the Executive Council. They saw the Albanians go into a nearby store and pull down the metal shutter behind them. They did not see Čubanović. They reported the incident to KFOR whose members sealed off and searched the area but did not find the abductors. The Čubanović family heard indirectly that some Albanian neighbors saw the abductors taking Čubanović away and urged them to release him, but to no avail.
Source: HLC, witness statement

Fazljija, Gafo (Fazlija, Gafo) (M, 23), Čelović, Ismet (M, 52), Roma, from Preoce (Preoc), Priština Municipality – last seen on 3 July 1999 in the Ulpijana district, Priština.

Fazljija, his brother F.G., Ismet Čelović and his brother Č.A. were hired by a Serb trucker, Slavko Zdravković, to move an elderly Serb woman from her apartment in Priština (entrance 11, seventh floor, green building, Kičma (Kurriz) district)) on 3 July. F.G. and Č.A. recounted that Zdravković came to Preoce at 9.40 a.m. and drove them to the building. The elevator was out of order so they carried the furniture and belongings down the stairs. A group of Albanians gathered on the steps outside the building and threatened and insulted them. Zdravković, who was upstairs, called KFOR. A patrol arrived shortly and dispersed the Albanians, and they continued loading the truck. Half an hour later, the same Albanians came back, resumed abusing them and said the belongings they were taking out of the apartment had been stolen by the elderly Serb woman. The Serb woman called KFOR and the Albanians were again dispersed.

The loading was finished at 3.30 p.m. Zdravković told the Roma he could not drive them back to Preoce as he had promised, and they walked to the bus stop near the market in the Ulpijana district. They noticed that they were being followed by four men, three of whom were about 23 or 24 and the fourth about 30. The older man was tall, of strong build and going bald. The younger men were shorter and thinner, two had streaked hair, and one curly hair. The witnesses recognized them as being in the group of Albanians who had abused them while they were loading the truck. At the post office, the men separated, two turning to the left at the market and two going in the opposite direction.
As they neared the bus stop, a white Zastava 101 with four men inside stopped in front of them. One of these men was the curly-haired man who had been following them. Then a blue Lada car drove up, with the remaining three men in it. The Roma started running: F.G. and Č.A. toward the market and Fazljija and Čelović down Vidovdanska St to the ring road. Two men got out of the Zastava and chased after F.G. and Č.A. When they reached the Kontra Restaurant, F.G. and Č.A looked back and saw that no one was following them any more. A KFOR patrol with a young Albanian woman interpreter came by and they tried to report the incident. The woman at first refused to translate what they were saying but then said something to the KFOR members. The witnesses believe that she did not translate their words as a KFOR member merely gave them a piece of paper with a telephone number to call if they needed an escort. The woman told F.G. and Č.A. that they were safe and would not be harmed.

F.G. and Č.A. walked on and then sat on a bench where they were approached by two young women who had overheard them talking about the incident. They said they were Serb and offered to take F.G. and Č.A. to the apartment of a friend who spoke English and could help them report to KFOR what had happened. They agreed, went to fetch the young man who spoke English and went with him to a KFOR post. The KFOR members there heard them out, said they could not leave their post and gave them the address and telephone number of the KFOR headquarters in Priština. Afraid of being caught in the streets, they returned to the young man’s apartment and tried to call the KFOR headquarters but the line was constantly busy.

A Serb neighbor of the young man offered to drive them to their village, for which they paid him 10 deutsche marks. They never learned what happened to Fazljija and Čelović.
Source: HLC, witness statement

Marković, D. Novica (M, 40), Serb, from Priština (7/6 Goleška (Goleshit) St.)), engineering technician, employee of Priština Power Distribution Company – abducted on 4 July 1999.

Marković’s relative recounted that Mrs. Marković and her children fled Priština for Serbia in late June. Marković stayed and occasionally went to see his father in the nearby Devet Jugovića village. A Priština Albanian told the family that Marković boarded a private bus bound for Devet Jugovića at the Lapska Džamija stop on the outskirts of Priština about noon on 4 July.

When the bus neared the stop where Marković was to descend, unidentified Albanian passengers went up to the driver and ordered him to continue without stopping. The bus reached Lužane village where the Albanians ordered the driver to halt. They dragged out Marković and took him away.
Source: HLC, witness statement

Jakšić, Svetislav (M, 71), Serb, from Priština (30/a Lenjinova St.), retired – abducted on 5 July 1999 on the way from his apartment to the Ulpijana district, Priština.

Jakšić’s daughter and her family lived in the Ulpijana district until they fled to Serbia on 5 July. She told the HLC that three unidentified Albanians attempted to enter her father’s apartment in the evening of 4 July, but were seen and arrested by a KFOR patrol. Her father spent the night in her apartment.

After seeing his daughter off the next morning, Jakšić returned to his apartment. Planning to spend that night also in his daughter’s apartment, he left at 5 p.m. As he was leaving his building an Albanian, formerly a security guard at the Granit company, physically assaulted him. An Albanian neighbor intervened to defend Jakšić who then got in his Zastava 101 (license plates PR 193-84) and drove away in the direction of Ulpijana. When he stopped at a traffic light, two armed Albanians came up, fired several shots into the car and ordered him to get out. A large group gathered around and helped the armed Albanians drag Jakšić out and knock him to the ground. The armed men then pushed him into the back seat and drove away.

Two relatives of Jakšić were driving through the intersection and saw what was happening. They were afraid to get out of their car to go to his help but immediately informed the family and KFOR.

Friends from Priština told Jakšić’s relatives that they saw his car a week after the abduction in front of the Tri Šešira Cafe in Vidovdanska St. The car was without license plates and was dented on the right side near the bumper.
Source: HLC, witness statement

Pavlović, Nataša (F), Serb, from Priština (19 Meto Bajraktari St.) – abducted on 5 July 1999.

Nataša Pavlović was taken from her yard by a young woman and two young men in uniforms without insignia about 2 p.m. on 5 July. Mrs. Pavlović suspects that an Albanian woman neighbor was involved in her daughter’s abduction.
Source: Priština Peace and Tolerance Center website

Gordić, Miloš (M, 36), Bosnian Serb, refugee from Mostar, Bosnia-Herzegovina; Ostojić, Veljko (M, 24), Bosnian Serb, refugee from Dvor na Uni, Bosnia-Herzegovina, medical technician – abducted on 12 July 1999 from room 301 at the Božur Hotel.

Gordić and Ostojić had been placed in the Božur Hotel together with other Serb refugees from Croatia and Bosnia-Herzegovina. On 12 July, five or six Albanians stormed into their room and took them away.
Source: Oslobodjen direktor Gradinga [Grading Manager Freed], BLIC (BETA), 15 July 1999

Ristić, Bratislav (M, 47), Serb, from Priština (36 Beogradska St, Dardanija district), employee of Jugobanka branch in Priština – abducted from his apartment on 12 July 1999.

Mrs. Ristić was told by her daughter-in-law that three armed Albanians forced their way into her son’s apartment at 9.30 p.m. on 12 July and took him, in his car, to the KLA headquarters to be questioned. The Albanians said Ristić would be in 15 minutes. His wife and daughter remained in the apartment. On 15 July, a man Mrs. Ristić did not know and who spoke little Serbian came to her apartment and handed her a note reading: “Your son is in prison in Kosovska Mitrovica, he is all right and nothing will happen to him if you pay.’ Beneath that her son had written, “They want 10,000 marks. If you can find the money, they will either let me go or kill me tomorrow or the day after” and his signature.
The family borrowed the money from friends to pay the ransom. The man phoned them the same afternoon and they agreed to give him half at once and the remainder when Ristić was released. The money was to be handed over at 7.30 p.m. at a prearranged location but no one turned up. The man did not contact them again. Ristić’s wife and daughter fled Kosovo to Serbia soon afterwards.
Source: HLC, witness statement

Ivanović, Momčilo (M, 33), Serb, from Priština, employee of railway company in Kosovo Polje – disappeared on 17 July 1999 in Priština.

Mrs. Ivanović told the HLC that her son left home without saying where he was going about 10 a.m. on 17 July. At noon, three Albanian civilians came and said her son had sent them. They searched the apartment but did not take anything. She asked where her son was and they replied, “You won’t see him again.” When they left, they told her to lock the door and to let no one in. For several consecutive days after her son’s disappearance, unidentified Albanians came to Mrs. Ristić’s door, said her son had been killed, and that she would be killed also unless she moved out. They described her son’s appearance, habits and the manner in which he was killed. Serb neighbors heard the threats to Mrs. Ivanović from behind the closed doors of their apartments but were afraid to go to her assistance.
Source: HLC, witness statement

Vasić, Dragoljub (M), Serb, from Priština (27 Roberta Gajdija St.), retired – abducted from his apartment on the night of 17/18 July 1999.

Miomir Djukić, a relative of Vasić, found Vasić’s apartment empty when he came in the morning of 18 July. On the basis of the apartment’s appearance, Djukić believes that Vasić was asleep when his abductors entered.
Source: HLC, witness statement

Ristić, Milorad (M), Serb, from Priština, son of Bora Ristić, official of the former Provisional Executive Council of Kosovo – abducted by the KLA on 18 July 1999 in Vidovdanska St. in Priština.
Source: Novo stradanje srpskog stanovništva [New Tribulations of Serb Population], POLITIKA, 19 July 1999

Nikolić, Dejan (M), Serb, from Priština (Sunčani Breg district) – abducted on 26 July 1999 from his apartment.

A group of armed Albanians came to Ristić’s apartment about 7.30 p.m. on 26 July, tied him up, raped his fiancée and took him away.
Source: Oteli supruga, ženu silovali [Husband Kidnapped, Wife Raped], BLIC, 28 July 1999

Petković, Nebojša (M, 40), Serb, from Priština (15, Šarla Tranijea St, Ulpijana district), oral surgery specialist, worked at the Emergency Medical and Ambulance Service – disappeared on 30 July 1999.

Mrs. Petković left Priština in mid-June, immediately after the withdrawal of the Yugoslav Army and Serbian police from Kosovo. Her husband decided to stay. She last spoke with him by telephone on 25 July when he told her unknown Albanians in uniforms had came to his place of work and threatened him with death unless he left Priština. Her father-in-law, who had also stayed in Priština, informed her on 5 August that her husband had disappeared. He had left work that day about 5 p.m. KLA members intercepted him outside the Devet Jugovića building in an area called the Micro-Development and took him to an unknown destination. His father also learned that KLA members had on two earlier occasions attempted to take Petković from the building in which he worked but were prevented by Albanian medical staff.
Source: HLC, witness statement

Milenković, Svetomir (M, 37), Serb, from Priština (183 Dalmatinska St), teacher in Obilić – abducted from his family house on 3 August 1999; his father Milenković, Momčilo was killed.

Milenković’s sister Jorgovanka told the HLC that KLA members came to the family’s house at 9.30 p.m. on 3 August. She, her brother, father and nine-year-old daughter Valentina were at home at the time. Four KLA men came into the house. The one in charge was about 30, brown-haired, short (approximately 165 centimeters), overweight and had a plaster cast on his right hand. A blue ship and an Albanian flag were tattooed on his lower right arm. The second KLA man was about 25, had short, dark hair spiked with gel (“like a hedgehog”), was between 175 and 180 centimeters tall, had acne and was wearing black jeans and sports shoes and a grey T-shirt. The third was very thin but muscular, with long hair drawn through the back of his black cap, and wore black jeans and shirt, a light brown belt, and white Nike shoes. The fourth was of medium height, with short brown hair combed to one side, and was also wearing black jeans and T-shirt and white Nike shoes. He was the only one who spoke Serbian.

Jorgovanka described what happened to her and her family:
“Dad unlocked the gate. They came up to the terrace where were all sitting and forced us into the house. They held Dad in the living room and led me and Valentina into my room. I didn’t see where they took Sveta (shortened form of Svetomir). They said they were looking for guns as well as gold and money. They turned everything upside down and seemed to be looking for gold and money rather than weapons. The one with the long hair was in the room with me and Valentina. He began to beat me. He put some metal thing over his fist and hit me on the head with it. Then he took some thin wires out of his pocket, put them round my throat and began throttling me. The wires cut deeper and deeper and blood poured down my neck, and he banged my head alternately against the cabinet and the wall. I fainted for a short while. When I came to I saw them going in and out of the room, carrying out all the more valuable things. They continued beating me, asked where the money and gold was. I said I’d tell them when they stopped beating me. They did and I gave them the box in which I kept my gold jewelry and some money. They went out and locked me and Valentina in the room.

“I heard them beating Dad in the living room; he screamed loudly with the pain. I took Valentina in my arms and began to cry. Fifteen or 20 minutes later, the sound of the blows and the screams stopped. Then I heard their voices in the yard, the sound of the car engine and they left. I waited another five minutes to be sure they had gone and climbed out the window with the help of a sheet, helped Valentina down and we went together from the yard to the living room. Dad was on the couch. A thin lace tablecloth was tied tightly around his neck. He saw us, got up and came towards us to hug us. He pointed to his neck, signing to me to take the tablecloth off. He put his arms around me and leaned against me. I tried to untie the tablecloth but the knot was very tight. Under the tablecloth, there was a wire fastened tightly around his neck, and had cut him in many places. There was a piece from a rifle beside him, all bloody. Sveta had been on military exercises and was left with the gun. We threw it away and only that part of it remained. They beat Dad with it, his head was all battered. When I managed to untie the tablecloth, blood poured from his nose and mouth. He slumped against me and died. I was soaked with blood. I began calling Sveta. I went out into the yard and saw that the lights were on in the old house. I went in. It had been ransacked but I couldn’t find Sveta anywhere.

“I went to our Serb neighbors, Žarko and Lola Nikolajević, and asked them for help. We called KFOR and they came in five minutes. I told them everything. The interpreter was a woman. They gave me something to calm me down. I took them to our house and they made an investigation. They called a doctor to examine Dad. He came quickly, took a look at him and when he came out gave me his condolences. They put his body in a bag and took him away. Since I couldn’t do it, I asked them to bury him next to my mother who had died three years before. I explained where my mother’s grave was and they buried him there later. Valentina and I stayed with the neighbors. KFOR came to see us and brought us food. Ten days later, they took us to Peć to identify a man they had arrested and believed was one of those who had attacked us. It was the fat one; Valentina recognized him immediately. I don’t know what happened to him after that; nobody told us anything. I never saw or heard from my brother. I know nothing about him.”

Jorgovanka and her daughter fled Kosovo to Serbia in late August. She lost her eyesight as the result of the beating she was subjected to.
Source: HLC, witness statement

Vasić, Nada (F, 95), Serb, from Priština (Lenjinova St.) – abducted on 8 August 1999.

Mrs. Vasić’s granddaughter last saw Mrs. Vasić when she went to see her between 10 and 12 a.m. on 7 August. On 8 August, Mrs. Vasić’s friend, who brought her bread every morning, found some Albanians changing the lock on the apartment door. They tried to drag her inside but she managed to get away. She informed Mrs. Vasić’s granddaughter of what had happened and they went together to KFOR to report the incident. KFOR arrested the young Albanians found in the apartment, who claimed that it was empty when they arrived.
The granddaughter told the HLC that two KLA members had forced their way into Mrs. Vasić’s apartment in mid-June and searched it for money and weapons. They asked Mrs. Vasić where her son was and she replied she had only a daughter. On leaving, they threatened to slit her throat if she did not move out. Source: HLC, witness statement

Živković, Ilija (M, 56), Serb, from Priština (135 Vidovdanska St., Ulpijana district), employee of Jugoinspekt company – abducted on 14 August 1999 on the road between Rudare and Priština.

Živković’s daughter, who fled Priština to Belgrade, told the HLC that her father left Belgrade for Priština with an Albanian from Belgrade with whom he intended to exchange apartments. They traveled in a car lent to Živković by a friend (license plates PR 107-906). Serbian police at the Rudare checkpoint on boundary with Kosovo registered that the car passed through about 5 a.m. and headed in the direction of Podujevo.

A family friend stated that he spoke with the Albanian who was travelling with Živković and who told him they had crossed the administrative boundary with Kosovo at 6 a.m. They were stopped by uniformed and masked KLA members at Livadice village. The KLA men dragged Živković out of the car and ordered the Albanian to continue.

The car was subsequently found in Podujevo. Ten days later, Živković’s daughter heard that the Albanian who was travelling with her father was in the Priština hospital, that he had been knocked unconscious by the KLA abductors and did not remember what had happened. She believes the incident occurred on the stretch of the road between the Bosanka Cafe and the woods. Albanian friends told her that her father was kidnapped by KLA members from Gornja and Donja Repa villages.
Source: HLC, witness statement

Nedeljković, Zoran (M, 46), Serb, from Priština (8 Tomislava Sekulića St.) – abducted at the market near the Boro and Ramiz Center between 11 a.m. and 2 p.m. on 18 August 1999.

Nedeljković, who spoke fluent Albanian, helped Serb residents of his building who were afraid to leave their apartments by shopping for them. A neighbor told the HLC that on 18 August he asked Nedeljković to help him take his weapons to hand them in at the Peace and Tolerance Center. They wrapped the guns in paper bags and, as they were carrying them downstairs, an Albanian resident noticed the protruding barrels. The witness believes that this might have been the reason for Nedeljković’s abduction two days later, when he went to the market to buy tomatoes for his neighbors.

Mrs. Nedeljković was at work at the time of her husband’s abduction. When she came home and realized he was missing, she reported his disappearance to KFOR. Some Albanian neighbors told her Nedeljković had been attacked by four uniformed KLA members, dragged into an automobile and driven away.
Source: HLC, witness statement

Simović, Aleksandar (M, 31), Serb, from Priština (5 Patrijarha Danila St.), translator/interpreter for Media Action International – abducted on 21 August 1999 at the Pikaso Cafe in Priština.

Simović and his father lived alone as his brothers and mother had fled Priština to Serbia. His brother Slaviša told the HLC that Simović left the apartment about 9 a.m. on 21 August and did not return. The family subsequently heard from Albanian friends that he was at two Priština cafes, the Kukri and Pikaso, that day with an Albanian friend whose name the family does not know.

Another Albanian friend of Simović, Agron Duši (Agron Dushi), told the family he saw Simović at the Pikaso Cafe, that two armed and uniformed KLA men came in around noon and took Simović and the Albanian away. Duši added that he saw this Albanian in town a few days later and heard from others that he had been held by the KLA for 24 hours and released while Simović was retained.
Source: HLC, witness statement

Jović, Tihomir (M, 47), Serb – abducted in early September 1999 in Priština.
Jović was taken by unidentified persons from the Priština hospital when he addressed the staff in Serbian.
Source: Fire Opened on Convoy of Serbs, KOSOVO DAILY NEWS, 14 September 1999

Škripac, Vera (F, 70), Serb, from Priština 43/1 Vladimira Stefanovića St., Dardanija district) – abducted from her apartment on 11 September 1999.
Slobodan Škripac recounted that he and his family fled to Serbia on 12 June so that his mother was alone in Priština. His wife spent a few days with her in July and returned to Serbia. Mrs. Škripac had no problems at that time.

In late August, unidentified Albanian civilians on several occasions came to Mrs. Škripac and threatened her with death unless she left Priština. Her son asked his Albanian lawyer friend Bedri Krasnići (Bedri Krasniqi) to sell his mother’s apartment and arrange for her to leave for Serbia. Krasnići was henceforth at the apartment almost daily and was there when the same Albanians who had threatened Mrs. Škripac earlier came again about 10 p.m. on 11 September. A neighbor told Slobodan Škripac that the Albanians led both his mother and Krasnići out of the apartment. He heard Krasnići arguing with them in the hallway and saw when they were pushed into separate cars outside the building and driven away.

Three days later, Škripac spoke on the telephone with Krasnići who told him that the abductors had beaten him up and released him, and that he did not know the whereabouts of Mrs. Škripac.
Source: HLC, witness statement

1.1. Killed

Čelić, Ivan (M, 37), Serb, from Priština (building 22, Sunčani Breg district), engineer, employee of Serbian Power Company, worked at the Belaćevac coal mine – disappeared on 14 June 1999.

Mrs. Čelić recounted that her husband stopped going to work when the mine was occupied by the KLA on 12 June. At about 1 p.m. on 14 June, Krnetić, the mine manager, phoned her husband and suggested that they meet at 2 p.m. that day at the Grand Hotel to discuss the future of the company. Mrs. Čelić last saw her husband when he left in his black WF Golf (license plates PR 998-08) to meet with Krnetić.

When he failed to return home by the evening, Mrs. Čelić called the mine manager who told her other business had prevented him from keeping the appointment. Friends told her Čelić had been at the Grand Hotel, waited for Krnetić and left when the manager did not turn up.

Čelić’s brother told the HLC that, upon learning of their son’s disappearance, his parents went to the home of KLA spokesman Adem Demaći (Adem Demaqi) in Dubrovačka Street, believing that he was implicated in the abduction. Demaći gave them no information about their son’s abduction.

They reported his disappearance to KFOR and the International Red Cross, spoke with KFOR commander General Jackson, and Čelić’s brother posted and handed out all over Priština leaflets in English with a photograph of Čelić.
Mrs. Čelić stayed in Priština until 24 June, never leaving her apartment. Albanian neighbors brought her food and necessities. When the neighbors told her the KLA was questioning people about who was supplying her with food, she was frightened and left for Serbia with her children.

In late September 2000, the ICRC, OSCE and UNMIK police organized in Gračanica and Zvečan preliminary identification of some 250 bodies uncovered in Kosovo in the past year. Families were shown photographs of clothes and other belongings. Mrs. Čelić recognized her husband’s belt.
Source: HLC, witness statement

Bojanić, Milo (M), Montenegrin – disappeared in the first half of June 1999 in Priština. His remains were found in early August in Priština.
Source: Kosovo and Metohija Events, KOSOVO DAILY NEWS, 17 August 1999

Piljević, Petrija (F, 57); her neighbor Djošić, Zoran (M, 56), Serbs, from Priština (Dardanija district) – abducted on 28 June 1999.

Mrs. Piljević’s son Dragan alleged that his mother’s Albanian neighbors in the same building, Adeljina (Adelina) and Mona Ismailji (Mona Ismaili) (apart. 8) and Ljuljeta Djonbaljaj (Luleta Gjonobalaj) (apart. 35) were responsible for her abduction. The abduction was reported to KFOR by Mrs. Djosić and S. J., a Serb neighbor. S.J. saw three KLA members and Adeljina Ismailji outside Mrs. Piljević’s apartment. Mrs. Djosić saw six persons entering the apartment. When Zoran Djosić attempted to come to Mrs. Piljević’s assistance, he too was abducted. Mrs. Piljević’s son stated that both were taken first to apartment 25 from which screams and cries for help were heard, and then to apartment 8, from where they were taken to an unknown destination at about 10 p.m.

In an interview with The Guardian, Adeljina Ismailji said she found her apartment plundered when she returned from Macedonia, and a photograph of Dragan Piljević and his baby in it. Another neighbor, Hosnija Jašić, told the paper’s reporter that Petrija Piljević was implicated in the looting of Albanian-owned apartments and that her son’s guitar was found in Mrs. Piljević’s home. An ethnic Turk resident of the building told the reporter that Dragan Piljević brought people to loot Albanian apartments. Dragan Piljević categorically denied all these allegations and said the photograph of him and his baby was extracted from his coat pocket by Adeljina Ismajli when she was in the Piljević apartment. He also denied claims that he and his brother were members of the Serbian police force, and said that his brother was a security guard at the Post Office and Panorama buildings.

In late September 2000, the ICRC, OSCE and UNMIK police organized in Gračanica and Zvečan preliminary identification of some 250 bodies uncovered in Kosovo in the past year. Families were shown photographs of clothes and other belongings. Piljević recognized his mother’s clothes. The whereabouts of Zoran Djošić remain unknown.
Source: HLC, witness statement

Šabić, Dimitrije (M, 62), Serb, from Priština (Solidarnost building 41, Sunčani Breg district), X-ray technician at Priština hospital – disappeared on 15 July 1999 in Priština.

Mrs. Šabić last saw her husband when he left home at 6.30 a.m. on 15 July. She said her husband’s Albanian colleagues had warned him of the danger of coming to work when the hospital had been taken over by the KLA. On one occasion, a KLA man physically assaulted Šabić but an Albanian colleague intervened and the KLA man beat up another Serb member of the hospital staff instead.

Mrs. Šabić recounted that another Albanian colleague of her husband, Rudžija Havolija (Ruxhaj Havolli), had told him on 14 July that he had reported him to the KLA police for stealing his car. During the NATO intervention, Ruždija gave the car to Šabić for safekeeping but it was commandeered by the Serbian forces. Rudžija held Šabić responsible and said he had two days to return the vehicle or be arrested by the KLA police. After Šabić’s disappearance, his wife and daughter managed to find Ruždija’s car and returned it, and asked him to help them obtain Šabić’s release. He took them to the KLA headquarters opposite the Hasan Priština (Hasan Prishtina) elementary school, told them to go in by themselves and said there was nothing more he could do for them. Mrs. Šabić and her daughter were afraid to go in and reported Šabić’s disappearance to KFOR and the International Red Cross.

In late September 2000, the ICRC, OSCE and UNMIK police organized in Gračanica and Zvečan preliminary identification of some 250 bodies uncovered in Kosovo in the past year. Families were shown photographs of clothes and other belongings. Mrs. Šabić recognized her husband’s clothes.
Source: HLC, witness statement

Popović, Milovan (M, 22), Serb – abducted on 28 July in Donja Brnjica near Priština. His remains were found on 13 August 1999 in Priština.
Source: PRAVOSLAVLJE PRESS, 13 August 1999; KFOR-u podvaljuju i prevodioci Albanci [Albanian Interpreters Duping KFOR], POLITIKA, 15 August 1999

Budimir, Rade (M, 59), Serb, from Priština (10th Housing Development), economist, manager of Putnik Travel Agency – disappeared on 2 August 1999 in Priština.

Following the withdrawal of the Yugoslav Army and Serbian police from Kosovo, Budimir and his wife moved in with his mother. His wife left Priština on 29 June and went to stay with relatives in Blace (Bllace), Suva Reka Municipality. Budimir remained in his mother’s apartment (Kragujevačka St. 11) with his brother-in-law.

Budimir’s brother told the HLC that he last saw Budimir about 10 a.m. on 1 August when both of them saw off their uncle and aunt who were moving out to Serbia, after which they went to their respective homes. The brother recalls that Budimir told him he was meeting a young man who worked for the OSCE the next day to look at an apartment the young man wished to rent in the Sunčani Breg district. The young man confirmed that he was to meet with Budimir but told his brother that he failed to appear.

On 30 June, Mrs. Budimir’s brother went to Blace to see her and stayed over the weekend. Budimir called his wife there at 11.30 p.m. on 1 August and that was the last time they spoke. Mrs. Budimir’s brother returned to Priština the next day and reached the apartment at 6.30 p.m. The door was locked but all the cupboards were open, and Budimir was not there. A neighbor told him that she had recently seen Budimir and believed he had gone to Mt Kopaonik in Serbia with his wife, which they had planned to do. On 3 August, Mrs. Budimir’s brother called her to check if her husband had left for Mt Kopaonik earlier than planned. She telephoned the travel agency where Budimir worked and was told that none of the staff were aware that he had left Priština. Her brother spent the night in the apartment and went to Kosovo Polje on business the next day.

On 5 August, Mrs. Budimir asked her brother to go to Priština to retrieve the money she had left in the apartment. He found four young Albanians there who said they were students and had moved in when they found the door open. They said they would leave if he had papers proving that the apartment was his. Since they had put a new lock on the door, he asked them to show him the old one. They brought it and he saw Budimir’s key still inserted in the lock. The students left, agreeing to come back at 7 p.m. to see the papers pertaining to the apartment. Mrs. Budimir’s brother did not find the money she had asked him to retrieve but noticed nothing else missing from the apartment. He called Budimir’s brother who reported the disappearance to KFOR.

KFOR members were in the apartment when the Albanian students came at 7 p.m., took them in for questioning and allowed them to go at midnight. Searching for Budimir, KFOR members went to the apartment he and his wife had abandoned. They found an Albanian neighbor in that apartment. Budimir had given him the key to look after the apartment while he and his wife were away. The neighbor returned the key to Budimir on 15 July, saying KLA men were constantly in the building and that he could no longer look after it. A few days later, the apartment was burglarized and, after Budimir’s disappearance, the neighbor moved in.

In late September 2000, the ICRC, OSCE and UNMIK police organized in Gračanica and Zvečan preliminary identification of some 250 bodies recovered in Kosovo in the past year. Families were shown photographs of clothes and other belongings. Mrs. Budimir recognized her husband’s clothes.
Source: HLC, witness statement

Stević, Miodrag (M), Serb, from Laplje Selo, Priština Municipality – abducted on 24 August 1999. He was found severely beaten the next day by KFOR and taken to the Priština hospital. He died of his injuries after a month in a coma.³¹
Source: HLC, witness statement

³¹  Witness statement on the abduction of Stević: Priština, 2.2.2. Escaped.
 

Micić, Branislav (M, 24), Serb, from Priština – disappeared on the night between 3 and 4 September 1999 in Priština. His body was found on 6 September 1999 in the Ulpijana district, Priština.
Source: Priština Peace and Tolerance Center website

Cvijanović, Djordje (M, 57), Serb, from Priština, auto mechanic, employee of the Ibar-Lepenac company – disappeared about 8 a.m. on 6 October 1999 in Priština.

On 25 October, Major Steiner of KFOR asked Cvijanović’s wife and daughter to come to Priština. He met them at Merdare on the border with Serbia on 2 November and informed Mrs. Cvijanović that her husband’s body, with five gunshot wounds, had been found about 5 p.m. on 6 October on the Priština-Glogovac road. KFOR buried the body in the Orthodox cemetery in the Dragodan district of Priština under the number 1161.

Mrs. Cvijanović told the HLC that KLA police came to their apartment in early August and gave her husband one day to move out. Mrs. Cvijanović was in Serbia at the time. Her husband had stayed on to complete legal requirements for exchanging their apartment for one in Belgrade. He was not harassed but the Albanian with whom he was negotiating an exchange complained that he had been threatened by the KLA for legally acquiring a Serb-owned apartment.

On 4 October, Cvijanović and this Albanian signed a contract. Cvijanović was to move out his belongings at 8 a.m. on 6 October with a KFOR presence. At 7.30 a.m., he called his wife, said the KFOR members had not yet arrived, that he was going to the ring road near the hospital to wait for the truck and would drop in to see her parents who lived near by. The truck driver called Mrs. Cvijanović about 8.30 to tell her that her husband had not showed up. The family reported Cvijanović’s disappearance to KFOR.
Source: HLC, witness statement

Perić, Miodrag (M, 59), Serb, from Gračanica, Priština Municipality, teacher at the secondary technical school – disappeared on 20 October 1999.
Perić was last seen when he left a cafe in Gračanica for home in his beige Zastava 128 (license plates PR 152-01). UNMIK police found his body on 30 October 1999.

Mrs. Perić stated that her husband left home at 7.30 a.m. on 20 October and went to work. It was a payday and he invited a few friends for drinks at the Kod Jugeta Cafe in Gračanica. These friends told Mrs. Perić they were at the cafe until 8 p.m. and that they were all intoxicated. The last they saw of her husband was when he got into his car and drove away.

On 30 October, UNMIK police notified Mrs. Perić that her husband’s body had been found in a field two kilometers from the road near the all-Albanian village Ajvalija. He had been shot in the right side of the head. The body was taken to the Priština hospital. A friend of Perić went to identify it the same day but the staff could not find the body. The friend saw Perić’s car in front of the Oda Cafe in Ajvalija and UNMIK police investigated. There were no signs of violence in the car. The slip covers and radio had been stolen. Several strands of long black hair, obviously not Perić’s, were found on the seat. The friend went again to the hospital on 5 November and identified Perić’s remains.
Source: HLC, witness statement

1.2. Free

2.2.1. Released by the KLA

B.S. (M, 21), Rom, from Velika Slatina, Kosovo Polje Municipality – abducted on 20 June, held in a KLA prison at an unknown location for 10 days and released.

B.S. recounted that he was in Priština on 20 June with another Roma man, helping to move a Serb woman to Lipljan. As they were loading the truck, B.S. noticed a young man in KLA uniform watching them from a window in the same building. The KLA man came down and said to B.S., “You, come with me. I see you’re a good worker. I only need some information.” B.S. refused, the KLA man left and shortly afterwards came back with an automatic gun. At that moment, an armored personnel carrier pulled up beside them, 16 KLA members surrounded B.S., forced him into the personnel carrier and drove him away. One hour later, they stopped outside a building with the number 25 and led B.S. into apartment number 3. A KLA man of about 40 asked B.S. if he had been in the Serbian army and he replied he had only dug trenches as a civilian. Five minutes later, KLA men led him out of the apartment, pulled a bag over his head, put him in a car and drove away. B.S. recalls that there were seven KLA members in the car with him and that the drive was a long one.

“When they got me out of the car, I saw we were in front of some building, like an abandoned army barracks. Two women of about 30 in KLA uniforms were waiting. The KLA took me into a room and started beating me. There were 10 of them. One punched me in the back, others kicked me and hit me with their hands. They beat me day and night, taking turns. I was alone in the room. There were always about 10 of them. I never left the room. I don’t remember sleeping or eating anything. For nine days I was beaten. On the tenth day, they brought a Serb into the room, about 30 he was. He was all bloody from being beaten, his hands and feet were tied and he had a wide piece of tape stuck over his mouth. They took us both to the basement. There was a bread oven down there. They put the man in the oven and he screamed when they turned it on. Eight Albanians and me stood there while he burned, in front of our eyes. He screamed for a long time. He burned for two hours. They took me back upstairs where a woman in KLA uniform was waiting. I recognized her, her name is Afterdita (Afërdita) and she’s from Drenica. There were another two women with her. They stripped me, put me naked on a bed with wheels, stuck some wires to my body and covered me with a lid-like glass thing. Then they turned on the electricity. The jolts bounced me off the bed several time and then I blacked out. When I came to again, Aferdita dressed me and said, ‘We’re going to KFOR.’ They drove me there.”

Before leaving him outside the KFOR building, Afterdita threatened to kill B.S. if she saw him again and said he had to move out of Kosovo. After he made a statement, KFOR members drove him to Čaglavica, a Serb village near Priština. B.S. does not know the location where he was handed over to KFOR and remembers only it was 6 a.m. when he was brought to Čaglavica.

B.K., a Gračanica Serb who had hired B.S. and T.S. (M, 21) described the abduction to the HLC:
“We had the moving of a Serb woman to Bujanovac scheduled at 7 a.m. on 20 June 1999. We were loading her things onto the truck when an Albanian came out of the neighboring yellow multi-story building nest to the Zeta-Trans company and the bookstore. He went up to B.S. and pulled him aside so that we wouldn’t hear what they were saying. They spoke quietly, in Albanian, but I heard the Albanian ask him his father’s name and address. The Albanian knew B.S. from Velika Slatina. After a while, he went back into the building. We finished the loading at 9.30 and planned to go to Bujanovac together. Then the same Albanian came out of the building again, with another six or seven Albanians, all in black. The one who had talked earlier with B.S. ordered him to go with them to answer some questions. Then he turned to me, said the Roma in Velika Slatina had committed many crimes against Albanians and that he had to check whether B.S. was involved. I told him B.S. was my worker, that we all had to leave together and that I was responsible for him. He replied that we would all have to go with them then. The other Albanians said nothing. S.B. got out of the truck and we left. The two of them stood talking in the street so that I wasn’t able to see in which direction B.S. was taken. I informed his parents as soon as I reached Gračanica and reported the incident to KFOR the next day. A few days later, B.S.’s father came to my store in Gračanica and said his son had been released and was all right.”
Source: HLC, witness statements

Z.P. (M, 19), Rom, from Kosovo Polje – abducted on 21 June 1999 in Priština and released in the evening.

Z.P. was in Priština to check up on the damaged house of a relative. He was outside the house when a group of Albanians seized him, pushed him into an Opel Astra car and drove him to the Roma cemetery where they beat him and threatened to kill him. Somewhat later, they took him to the KLA headquarters in a private house where he was held for seven hours. He was beaten and asked to identify Serbs who had committed crimes against Albanians. They released him in the evening and threatened him with death if he reported them to KFOR.
Source: Roma from Kosovo Testify, KOSOVO DAILY NEWS, 12 September 1999

Š.K. (M), Rom, from Priština (15 Kolubarska St.) – abducted by the KLA on the night of 20/21 June 1999; released on 21 June 1999 after his family paid ransom.

Š.K.’s uncle recounted that four KLA men came to their house that night. They beat up Š.K. and took him to the KLA headquarters, telling the family he would be released if they paid 500 deutsche marks. The family paid the ransom and Š.K. was let go the same day. The KLA then torched the house of Š.K.’s family and gave them five minutes to leave Priština. The family fled to Montenegro.
Source: HLC, witness statement

F.F. (M, 23), Rom – abducted by the KLA on 21 June 1999 in Priština and released several hours later.

F.F. was stopped by KLA members in a street near his home and taken by force to their base in the Dragodan district of Priština. He was physically abused, questioned and ordered to name persons who had committed crimes against Albanians. He was released later that day.
Source: Abuses against Serbs and Roma in the New Kosovo, HRW, August 1999

P.D. (M, about 60), Serb, from Priština – abducted and imprisoned by the KLA from 22 to 26 June 1999 at Zlatare (Zllatare) near Priština.

A relative of P.D. stated that he was abducted by KLA members outside his apartment building. A cloth was thrown over his head and he was forced into a car and taken to the nearby village Zlatare. P.D. was led into a building and locked in a room with four other Serbs whose names are unknown to the relative. The prisoners slept on old military sacks. KLA members took them out every 20 minutes for to be questioned and beaten. On the last day of P.D.’s imprisonment, an Albanian friend of his was among those who questioned him. This Albanian said he could arrange for P.D.’s release but would not be able to protect him in the future, and that he and his family had to leave Priština. P.D. was released and fled to Serbia the next day with his family.
Source: HLC, witness statement

R.J. (F, 60), Serb, from Devet Jugovića, Priština Municipality – abducted on 24 June 1999 on the road from Čaglavica to Devet Jugovića, and left tied up beside the road later that day.³²
Source: HLC, witness statement

³²  Witness statement on the abduction and release of R.J.: Priština, 2. Abducted.
 

Lj.D. (M, 65), Serb, from Priština, retired – abducted and held in a KLA prison from 28 June to 16 July 1999.

Lj.D. stated that he was stopped in the street by four Albanians in civilian clothes about noon on 28 June. In Serbian, they asked for directions and when he began to tell them the men seized him, dragged him into a car parked near by, blindfolded him and drove him to the Meto Barjaktari elementary school.

“They led me into a room and began to hit me on the head with hard objects. Several of them beat me at the same time. Saying they had found some weapons in my apartment building, they demanded that I tell them where other weapons were cached. After the beating, they took me to a concrete-floored solitary. They beat me again the next day and demanded I tell them who looted and torched Albanian houses, who killed Albanians and where my sons where. They threatened to kill my wife. In the beginning they beat me once or twice a day and then they forgot about me. I was in the solitary for 18 days and got only some thin soup to eat. I heard them bringing new people in all the time, the sound of beatings and cries.”

On 16 July, the abductors handed Lj.D. over to KFOR who transferred him to Kosovo Polje. A few days later he and another 20 Serbs left Kosovo for Serbia under KFOR escort.
Source: HLC, witness statement

B.A. (M, 33); M.R. (M), Roma, from Priština – abducted in June 1999 and released a few hours later.

B.A. told the HLC that two Albanians accosted him and M.R. in the street and forcibly took them to a private house in the Dragodan district of Priština. Another Albanian who was already there questioned them.

“He asked if we were Gypsies or Albanians. We said Albanians so they wouldn’t kill us. They tried to make us admit we were Gypsies. They beat us with baseball bats and kicked us. We didn’t admit anything. They took our ID cards and said since we were Albanians, we had to go with them tomorrow to kill Serbs and Gypsies. They threatened to kill our families and burn down our houses if we said anything to KFOR. Then they drove us home.”

The same two Albanians came to B.A.’s home the next day at 1 p.m. He saw them coming and escaped through a window. B.A. and his family fled Kosovo to Serbia after the incident.
Source: HLC, witness statement

(Last name unknown), Fajik (M), Rom, from Priština – abducted in June 1999 and released a few days later.

Serb acquaintances of Fajik told the HLC that several Albanian women forced him to go with them to Matičane near Priština where they reportedly beat and questioned him. Fajik was released a few days later.
Source: HLC, witness statement

Stojanović, Miloš (M, 51), Serb, from Priština (63 Miladina Popovića St.) – abducted by unidentified persons from his house about 9 p.m. on 10 July and released on 13 July 1999.
Source: Albanski extremisti oslobodili Miloša Stojanovića [Albanian Extremists Release Miloš Stojanović], POLITIKA, 14 July 1999

Dabižljević, Radun (M, 65), Serb, from Priština, retired military officer; two unidentified men, drivers of a truck with Kruševac, Serbia, license plates – abducted on 13 July. Dabižljević was released on 16 July 1999, the truck and its load were retained by the KLA, while the whereabouts of the two drivers remain unknown.
Source: HLC, witness statement

Č.P. (M, 63), professor of civil engineering at Priština University and manager of Grading construction company; his relative Š.J (M. 57), retired, Serbs, from Priština – abducted on 14 July 1999, held in the KLA police headquarters in the Dragodan district, Priština, for eleven hours and released.

Č.P. told the HLC what happened at 12.30 p.m. on 14 July when he went to a store opposite his house to buy cigarettes:

“I was getting the cigarettes when three men unknown to me, members of the KLA guard, came in. One shut the door and ordered me into the storeroom. They were in civilian clothes, one was dressed all in black. They didn’t take their guns out. They searched me and then took me to my house.”

As they went into the house, Č.P.’s relative arrived. The KLA men took both of them out, forced them into a car and drove them to a private house in the Dragodan district where the KLA police headquarters was located. They were questioned and asked if they knew who was responsible for the destruction of Albanian property.

“They took us up to the attic and ordered us to sit with our backs to the wall, facing the window. Two of them stood guard over us all the time. When we went to the toilet, we had to leave the door open. They didn’t tie us up.”

The witness said the KLA members behaved correctly and did not physically abuse them. When they were released eleven hours later, their papers were returned to them but not their money. They were told they could come back for it the next day. Their abductors drove them home. Both Č.P. and Š.J. fled Kosovo to Serbia after the incident.
Source: HLC, witness statement

Tanasković, Ljubiša (M, 53), Serb, from Priština, art historian, director of the Priština Modern Art Gallery – abducted on 6 August 1999, questioned and released the same day.

Tanasković recounted that an Albanian civilian attempted to force him into the basement of a store in which he was shopping with his wife on 2 August. He managed to get away and run into the street. His wife called a KFOR patrol but the assailant escaped.

On 6 August, Tanasković was stopped by KLA members in civilian clothes in Goleška Street after parting from officials of the Serbian Ministry of Culture, the director of the Belgrade Modern Art Gallery, and a woman from the Belgrade Ethnographic Museum. The KLA men took him to the basement of the Beograd Cafe in the same street.

“They ordered me to sit. One began to question me, another had a Motorola and, I believe, was talking to someone about me, and the third stood by the door. The one who questioned me was polite but the one with the Motorola threatened me repeatedly, saying I should be liquidated. They asked if I knew any Serb surgeons in Priština. I mentioned Tomanović and Sekulić. They asked about others. I asked them what had happened to Tomanović but received no reply. When I asked why they needed surgeons, one of them replied that they did not have qualified people, and that a young man who had been wounded in the leg lost it because the surgeon did not perform the operation properly. They ordered me to empty my pockets and the bag I had with me. They kept everything, my address book, my father’s contract for his apartment, and some papers from my office. Among those papers was a letter from the Kosovo Helsinki Committee which confirmed that I had protected the property of one of the Committee members during the war. Actually, the son of this member had a computer center and I placed the Gallery plaque on its wall so that our army and police wouldn’t steal the computers. They asked me about some Albanian friends whose names were in my address book. I think they were surprised because some of them were high up in the KLA hierarchy. They said over and over that I had to leave Priština.

“After they had questioned me for two hours, two of them went out, saying they would be back shortly, and the third one stayed with me. As soon as they had left, he took the 10 dollars I had put on the table when I emptied my pockets. He said he would give me a receipt for it. When the other two returned, they told him to give back the money. He did and they said I could go but had to move out of Priština. They made me an offer to exchange my apartment with an Albanian from Merdare or Bujanovac (Serbia). I asked them to return my papers and address book and they promised they would tomorrow. We agreed to meet at noon the next day in front of the same cafe.”

Tanasković kept the appointment. One of the KLA men was waiting outside the cafe. He said the papers and address book could not be returned yet as they were still being checked and the KLA police were slow. They agreed to meet again at 2 p.m. the next day. All three of his abductors appeared at the time set. They said they had found some Albanians who were willing to exchange their apartments in Lebane and Merdare for Tanasković’s apartment. He turned down the offer. They told him his papers would be returned later that afternoon and Tanasković suggested that they come to his home as moving about town was dangerous in the afternoon. They agreed but did not show up. Tanasković and his family fled Priština to Serbia on 18 August.
Source: HLC, witness statement

2.2.2. Escaped

K.B. (M, 27), from Kojlovica, Priština Municipality, Telecom employee; his brother K.S. (M, 31), worker at the Dobri Do coal mine; D. (or P.) S. (M, 42), electrician with Priština Police Department, Serbs – abducted by the KLA on 14 June 1999 and escaped three days later.

K.B. recounted to the HLC that Kojlovica Serbs were leaving their homes on 14 June as their Albanian neighbors, who had returned to the village, threatened to kill them all unless they moved out. K.B.’s family set out on two tractors, with K.B., his mother and uncle riding on the first and his brother K.S. on the second. They were stopped on the road from Kojlovica to Priština by members of the KLA who were not in uniform but wore red armbands inscribed with the letters UÇK (Albanian acronym for KLA). K.B. recognized some of them as villagers from Nova Kojlovica but does not know them by name. They ordered the brothers to go with them.

“They set on us as soon as they had us off the road. They hit us with spades and punched and kicked us. Then they dragged us another 500 meters in the direction of Taslidže (Taslixhe). A car came for us, an old model, metallized blue Mercedes 200. Some men got out of the car. They tied our hands with rope and blindfolded us. They pushed me into the back seat; I sat between two of them. Though he is bigger than me, they made my brother get in the trunk. They stopped and got us out of the car. They led us into the yard of a house in Taslidže. It was above the teachers’ college, on the left side, the last house on the hill. They took off our blindfolds. A girl of maybe 23 motioned for them to take us down into the cellar. She drew her hand across my throat as if telling me I would be slaughtered. My brother was all bloody from the beating he got.”

Another Serb prisoner, D. (or P.) S., also bound, was in the cellar. They were led out one by one, their eyes blindfolded, and taken to another house where they were questioned and beaten. The interrogators mainly demanded that they reveal the names of Kojlovica villagers implicated in crimes against the Albanian population.

“When they had questioned us all, they moved us to some other house and made us strip down to our underpants. Almost naked, we were tied up, separately and then to each other, with a thick rope. We sat with our backs to each other. We were made to sit up straight for hours and not allowed to lower our heads or lean against each other. That was where we got the worst beatings. They kicked and punched us and when they got tired, they’d get a plastic hose or a metal tube from a vacuum cleaner and beat us with them.
“They didn’t care where they hit us – on the head, body, wherever they could. They cursed and swore at us and spat on us. At one point, I went crazy from the beating and started yelling that I wanted to see the one in charge. They barged in and stuck the barrel of a pistol in my mouth. I thought they were going to shoot me. They took of my blindfold and I saw Čamilj Pajazit (Pajaziti Qamil) from Nova Kojlovica (Kolovicë e Re) among them. I know him well from the village, he’s 39 years old. He’s the one who beat me most. A young guy of no more than 19 who was with him tried to defend us. Pajazit might have killed me if it hadn’t been for that young man. He asked me who had torched his house. I said I didn’t know and asked him where he was at the time. He replied that he had fled. And then I asked him if anyone had tried to stop him or had given him a hard time. No, he said. I asked why he was doing this to us. He just went on beating me and said that his time had come. They poured cold water over us at about 3 a.m. and left us there. One of them came in later and threw a blanket over us. It was the young man, I think.”

The next day, 15 July, the three prisoners found a piece of glass on the floor with which they were able to cut their bonds. They took advantage of a moment when a KFOR truck was passing the house to escape.

“The door wasn’t locked. I suppose they thought they had tied us up so tight that we wouldn’t be able to get free. There was a KFOR soldier patrolling the street about 500 meters from the house. I told my brother to run out of the house and toward the soldier. The electrician went after him and I was the last.”
As they spoke with the KFOR soldiers, local Albanians gathered around and abused and threatened them. They were taken to a KFOR command post where they gave statements about their abduction. The Albanian interpreter refused to translate everything they said and told them, “This is war, it happened to us too. I’m not going to translate that.”

K.B. and K.S. fled to Serbia on 17 June.
Source: HLC, witness statement

S.M. (M, 47), Serb, from Priština, financial manager of the Komunalac company – abducted by the KLA on 19 June 1999 when leaving the company building; escaped the next day.

S.M. described what happened:
“I saw seven men come into the building. Four climbed up to the mezzanine. An Albanian employee called to me to come out, saying there was something he wanted to ask me. As I went toward the entrance, I passed by the four men and left them behind me. They came after me and grabbed me as I was going down the stairs and took me outside. They were in civilian clothes apart from one who was wearing the KLA uniform. Two automobiles arrived. Some other men took over and pushed me into the back seat. I sat in the middle with one on either side of me. One showed me a pistol fitted with a silencer. We drove toward the center of Priština. They put a hood over my head.”

S. M. was taken to a house in Zlatare village. He was held in the cellar, beaten and questioned. His captors demanded the names of Serbs involved in crimes against the Albanian population.

“They punched me on the head and in my stomach. As they beat me they kept saying, ‘Serb mafioso, how many Albanians have you killed, how many women have you raped?’ One of them took off the hood and kicked me in the chest so hard that I fell off the chair. After a while, the one in charge came down and said, ‘Sorry for giving you such a hard time. You’re lucky you landed in my hands. All we want is the truth. Come on, admit with whom in the Army and police you collaborated!’”

At times, two KLA members would take M. S. to a nearby woods where they tied him to a tree, beat him and threatened to kill him.

“We walked for about 20 minutes. They tied me to a tree and asked if I wanted to be taken back to the boss to start talking or be killed. When I repeated that I knew nothing, one put the barrel of his automatic to the back of my head and squeezed the trigger. The gun wasn’t loaded. After some more of the same kind of talk, the other one came up and pressed his pistol to my temple and squeezed the trigger. It didn’t go off - it was empty too. They tormented me in this fashion for an hour and then took me back and continued beating me, all over the body.”

S.M. was held in the cellar, tied to a chair. In the evening, his captors brought him water and a piece of pie. He refused to eat or drink as he was not allowed to go to the toilet. They put the pie in a paper bag and left it on the window sill.
“I couldn’t sleep at all. I had cramps in my legs. Rats squealed and fought over that piece of pie, running over the paper bag and making it rustle. I was afraid they would jump on me. At about 10 the next morning, they came down to the cellar again, tore off the tape over my mouth and asked if I had changed my mind. They beat me and forced the pie into my mouth. They took me to the woods again.”

The KLA men again tied S.M. to a tree, placed a hood over his head and debated between themselves whether to leave him or take him elsewhere. The men finally went way, leaving him tied to the tree. He managed eventually to free himself and escape. He made his way to his in-laws, phoned his family and told them to leave their apartment immediately and go to his mother in Kosovo Polje, after which he reported the incident to KFOR. Relatives drove him to Kosovo Polje and, two days later, he and his family fled to Serbia. S.M. heard subsequently that KLA members had been to his apartment in Priština’s Sunčani Breg district on the day of his escape and questioned neighbors about his and his family’s whereabouts.
Source: HLC, witness statement

C.S. (M, 55), Serb, from Priština, retired police officer, worked as driver for the Priština branch of the National Bank – abducted by the KLA on 20 June 1999, held in Srbica until 23 June when he escaped.

C.S. left work for home at 3 p.m. on 20 June. He described what happened then:
“It was 3.30 when I went into my building. I live on the fourth floor but the elevator was out of order and kept getting stuck on the fourth so I hit the button for the fifth. When I got up to the fifth floor, three KLA members came into the elevator. They didn’t let me out, just pushed me back and got the elevator down to the ground floor. They wore black vests and spoke Albanian. One put his knife against my throat, two pointed their pistols at me. They took my wallet and watch, took off my shoes, and took the car keys - the keys of my metallized grey BMW 318, license plates PR 193-14, and the bank’s metallized gray Opel Vectra with Belgrade license plates. They handcuffed me, led me out of the building and put me in their gray Opel Ascona. They asked where the cars were and I said in the National Bank’s parking lot. We went there and cruised around the building for a while but couldn’t get in because our security guards, some retirees, were there.

“Then they drove me to Srbica and took me into a private house. Their commander was there, a thin man with slicked-down hair. ‘How was your trip,’ he asked in Albanian and I replied it hadn’t been bad. They beat me, each of them every time he passed near me. They asked why I hadn’t run and what I was still doing there. Then they put me into a Lada car and took me to the guardhouse at the Srbica mill. Three of them guarded me by day. They would leave in the evening and another one would come. The man who guarded me at night was from Srbica. He was much better than the others. His house was near by and once he brought me bread just baked by his wife and a piece of cheese. I couldn’t eat. He gave me cigarettes too. They gave me water regularly. During the day, they demanded that I write down on a piece of paper the names of Albanians I had killed, raped, robbed... One time, one of them brought a paper bag and asked me how much it could hold. I said 20 to 25 kilos and he replied that I would fit into the bag when they killed me. One made me kiss the flag-badge on his uniform three times. Then he said he was going to ask me a question and would kill me if I gave the wrong answer. He asked who I would choose to be the president of Kosovo – Ibrahim Rugova or Hašim Tači (Hashim Taqi). I said Rugova was prone to hem and haw, that Taći did what he said he would do so I would choose him if I was them. He said that was the right answer.

Three days later, at about 8.30 in the evening of 23 June, I told the guy from Srbica I had to go to the toilet. I wasn’t tied – they had taken the cuffs off because my hands had swollen up badly. I sneaked out and escaped through the woods. I ran to a field where some Gurkhas with KFOR were clearing mines. I told them what had happened to me and they offered me food and drink. I spent the night there, they took down my statement on eight pages, and then they drove me to Priština.”

On arriving home, C.S. found that his wife had already left Priština and was with her sister in Čaglavica village. C.S. spent the night with a friend in Priština and joined his wife the next day. They left Kosovo for Serbia a week later.
Source: HLC, witness statement

M.M. (M, 34), Serb, from Priština, police officer – abducted on 26 June 1999 in Priština; held for four days in a KLA prison in the Sunčani Breg district, Priština.
M.M.’s wife and children left Priština immediately after the withdrawal of the Yugoslav Army and Serbian police. He and his mother stayed. Before 25 June, an Albanian friend told M.M. the KLA had questioned people in Mušutište, a village near Priština, about him.

At 5 a.m. on 26 June M.M., who kept watch alternately with his mother, noticed three armed KLA men entering his building.

“I woke my mother, put my weapons in a duffel bag, and we climbed to the roof of the building. We descended on the other side and went into the entrance opposite. An apartment had been looted and its door was open. I don’t know by whom; everybody was looting. I concealed my mother and the duffel bag there. I gave her my pistol, took it off safety and cocked it and told her to shoot if anyone came near her. I left the building and ran toward the shopping center that was being built near the School of Humanities. The KLA men saw me and gave chase. They caught up after about 300 meters, struck me on the head with a rifle butt, and tied me up. My mother saw, ran out into the street and after us, shouting, ‘Leave him alone – he’s done nothing.’ They hit her on the head with a rifle butt, she fell, they gave her several more blows and left her in the street. They took me to private house in the Sunčani Breg neighborhood and down to the basement. They led two bound men out. I don’t know who they were and only heard the KLA men say ‘Take these Škije out and bring in the new one.’
“They untied me and started beating me. They beat me every day, asking which unit I had been in, what I did, who I had killed, where I kept my weapons. They used a baseball bat, hitting me mainly on the soles of my feet and palms. I told them I had stayed because my conscience was clear, that I had not killed or robbed anyone. They just went on beating me. One was called Ljuljzim (Lulzim), a man with brown hair and a dark complexion, about 190 centimeters tall and approximately 30 years old. The other was Gazmend. He was dark and had a mustache and was about 40. The third one didn’t come so often. They gave me water in small plastic Coca Cola bottles. It was the second day before they gave me a quarter of a loaf to eat. I was sick from the beatings and couldn’t get it down. In the morning of the fourth day, 29 June, they led me out of the house to take me somewhere. I wasn’t tied up – all three of them were with me. When we were out in the street, they said in Albanian, ‘Go on, run.’ I thought they were going to shoot me but I still ran. They fired after me. I don’t know how they missed. They probably fired over my head. It seems they didn’t want to kill me. I don’t know why.”

M.M. and his mother immediately fled Kosovo to Serbia.
Source: HLC, witness statement

J.V. (M, 26), Serb, from Priština, university student – abducted on 28 June 1999 and escaped the same day.

J.V. was alone at home on 28 June. A group of armed Albanians came into the building in which some Serbs still lived. They first robbed a Serb resident, Božidar, and then threatened another with death unless he rang J.V.’s doorbell. J.V. opened the door and saw his injured Serb neighbor and the armed Albanians, who ordered him to go with them. They drove him to a private house near the Muslim religious school in Priština where they questioned him about a murder and physically abused him. J.V. seized a moment when he was not being watched to escape through a window. He and his mother fled Kosovo to Serbia after the incident.
Source: HLC, witness statement

S.B. (M, 62), Serb, from Gornja Brnjica (Bernica e Epërme), Priština Municipality - abducted in late June 1999.

S.B.’s relative recounted to the HLC that S.B. was abducted by the KLA and imprisoned at an unknown location outside the village. He was able to escape and return to the village.
Source: HLC, witness statement

A.D. (M, 54), Serb, from Priština, lineman, employee of the Serbian Power Company, Dobri Do installation - abducted on 8 July 1999 and imprisoned by the KLA for four days.

A.D. stated that the day before his abduction, 7 July, he and two co-workers were waiting for the company bus some 200 meters from his building to take them to work. A white Yugo car without license plates with three young men between 20 and 25 years of age drove past them. One of the men opened the window and fired a burst of shots at the feet of the three Serbs.

Scared by the incident, his two co-workers did not go to work the next day so that A.D. was alone when left his apartment at 5.45 a.m. on 8 July. When he exited the building, he was stopped by three young KLA men he believes were the same men who had fired him and his co-workers the previous day. One aimed his pistol at A.D. and in Albanian said, ‘Get in.’ The KLA men forced him into a white Yugo without license plates and drove him to Block D7 in the Ulpijana district. They took him to a private house next to the Catholic church on which the flag of neighboring Albania was hoisted. A.D. learned subsequently that the house belonged to a medical doctor but does not know his name. Armed and uniformed guards stood outside this KLA headquarters. A.D.’s captors handed him over to two men with hoods over their heads.

“One of them pulled my arms behind my back and handcuffed me. The cuffs were so tight that my wrists hurt terribly. Then the two with hoods pushed me into some cellar. It was more like a bunker than a real cellar – a very cramped space, the door no more than 80 centimeters high and the ceiling barely one meter from the floor. There wasn’t room for me to stand up. They locked me in between 6 and 7 a.m. and I was there until 10 p.m. I moaned with pain, my arms hurt, I was all cramped up and couldn’t stretch out. I shouted in Albanian for them to take me to their commander. They came for me at 10 p.m., took me out of the cellar and upstairs to their commander’s office. He was a very civilized man, I must admit. He was about 35, good-looking, tall, dark, probably an intellectual.

“First they beat me. The commander didn’t beat me a lot but his people did. There were both men and women, all in uniform and all quite young. The women dealt out the worst beatings. They had some kind of clubs with which they hit me most of the time. They broke all my teeth. When they stopped sometime before morning, the commander began to question me. While his soldiers were in the office, he spoke Albanian but when they went out and the two of us were alone he spoke perfect Serbian. He asked if I had been mobilized, if I had weapons, both of which I denied. They had found a photo of my son on me and asked where he was, said my boy was a criminal and had killed Albanians. They asked in which unit he was. That wasn’t true. I had sent my son to Serbia back in May. He’s nineteen and hasn’t spent a day in the army, hasn’t even done his pre-military training. I told them so but they didn’t believe me.

“Every day I was held there was more or less the same as the first. I was locked in the cellar by day, taken out and beaten in the evening, and then taken to the commander’s office for questioning. Sometimes we talked nicely. I’m a fisherman and he seemed to like fishing too. We talked about fishing on the lake here, about hooks and stuff like that. They didn’t give me any food apart from the third evening when I got a piece of bread and cheese. That was all. They gave me water regularly and, when I was with him, the commander gave me cigarettes.

“On the fourth evening I was being questioned by the commander in his office as usual. The window was broken – I think a draught had banged it and shattered the glass. They had just taken off the cuffs and the commander had given me a cigarette when a loud noise was heard from the ground floor. I have no idea what was going on but they were all very wrought up and ran downstairs, leaving me alone in the office. I didn’t think about it long because I knew I had very little time. I went to the broken window. There was a tree below it, an apple or pear, I think. I jumped on the tree, from the tree into the yard and took off. As I tried to get over the fence into the street, the guards began shooting at me. I got into the street, the guards ran out after me, and I saw a dumpster which hadn’t been emptied for a long time, with a lot of garbage around it. I hid in the garbage, waited until the guards went back into the yard and when they had gone, started to run. I walked to Kosovo Polje, went into a cafe and called my wife, told her what had happened, that I had escaped and that she had to flee. She had already reported my disappearance to KFOR, the Red Cross and the Peace and Tolerance Center. She and a woman friend of hers went also to the KLA headquarters to ask about me but they refused to talk with her because she spoke Serbian. My wife doesn’t speak Albanian.”

From Kosovo Polje, A.D. proceeded to Zvečan from where he fled to Serbia. His wife left Priština several days later, also for Serbia. No KLA members came to their apartment while she was still in Priština.
Source: HLC, witness statement

J.Ž. (M, 40), Serb, from Ugljare; Priština Municipality; Dj.S. (M), Serb, from Gornja Brnjica, Priština Municipality; Stević, Miodrag, Serb (M), from Laplje Selo, Priština Municipality – abducted by Albanian civilians in Priština on 24 August 1999. J.Ž. and Dj.S. escaped; Miodrag Stević was found severely injured by KFOR on 25 August 1999 and died in the Priština hospital a month later.

J.Ž., the brothers Dj.S. and Dj.N. and Miodrag Stević were hired by the farm cooperative in Laplje Selo to help bring in the harvest in Gornja and Donja Brnjica villages. They left Laplje Selo in a truck about 3 p.m. on 24 August and, running out of fuel in the Vranjevac district of Priština, stopped outside the Municipal Court building and went to the Priština Radio-Television building to seek assistance from KFOR. Dj.N. went with a KFOR patrol to look for fuel while Dj.S., J.Ž. and Stević waited beside the truck. A small boy came up to them between 4 and 5 p.m. and asked for a cigarette in Albanian. They said, also in Albanian, that they had none and the boy left. A few minutes later, a large group of Albanian civilians gathered around them. J.Ž. described what happened then:

“They separated the three of us and started beating us. They swore and cursed our Serb mothers. They punched and kicked me, hit me with metal bars, thick wooden sticks and various tools. Then two Albanians dragged me into a white Audi car. I couldn’t see Dj.S. and Miodrag for the crowd of yelling and cursing Albanians around me. The two who took me were almost the same height. One was a bit larger and the other one, who drove, was very fair. They asked if I wanted to be taken to Obilić, Kruševac or Orlović villages. They ordered me to lie down on the back seat but I was able to see that we passed the bus stop and turned right toward the Automobile Alliance.

“They stopped at the Matička River and the one in the passenger seat took me to Matičane village on foot. The one who drove stayed in the car. We went through the orchards alongside the river and, about 100 meters farther on came to a house in Emširovo (Rruga e Emshirit) hamlet under Veternik Hill. Two men came out of the house. I saw it only from the back. It was between 500 and 700 meters from the main road, had two stories and wasn’t plastered on the outside. There was a window on the second floor, the fence was of large red bricks topped with concrete. One of the men was very tall. He wore a red T-shirt and carried a wooden bat. The other one was shorter. All three began to beat me. They forced me to jump over the river. I didn’t make it, fell and blacked out. It was about 7 p.m. when I came to. There was a lot of blood around me – it was coming out of my nose, mouth and ears. When I saw I was alone, I managed somehow to get to the river and wash. Then I saw the three Albanians going toward where I had been laying. I hid in the bushes beside the river and they didn’t see me. They looked around for a while and left. I set off downriver to Ugljare village. It took me four hours to walk there. I went into a store and told the people there what had happened to me. I blacked out again as I was telling them.”

Dj.S. also was able to escape. Miodrag Stević was found by KFOR the next day, severely beaten, and was taken to the Priština hospital where he died after a month in a coma.
Source: HLC, witness statement

G.D. (F, 22); her son G.N. (2), Serbs, from Priština - abducted by the KLA on 18 June 1999. They were taken to a brothel in the As Cafe in Sankovce, Macedonia, where G.D.’s son was separated from her and she was forced to prostitute herself. They managed to escape on 9 September 1999.

G.D. stated that KLA commander Imer Marmulaku (Ymer Marmullaku) and his brothers repeatedly came to her home after the withdrawal of the Yugoslav Army and Serbian police from Kosovo, and threatened to kill her and her son unless she moved out. She reported these threats to KFOR several times but was advised only to keep her door locked. She described what happened next:
“Somebody rang the doorbell between 6 and 7 p.m. on 18 June. A man said he would put a bomb by the door unless I opened. When I did, four Albanians came in – Imer Marmulak; Ismet from Taslić (Tasligje) Street, a cigarette vendor; Fadilj (Fadil), a KLA commander from Podujevo. I didn’t know the fourth. They had KLA uniforms but wore shirts over them. They came in and showed me a cloth KLA badge. All had knives in their belts and pistols. Imer said I would definitely move out now and put his knife to my son’s throat. The others searched the apartment, and took the money and gold jewelry. Imer said they were taking me somewhere and told me to get a sweat suit for my son. The door of the apartment was open and the noise they were making could probably be heard. Two of my neighbors and another man came in and threw out the attackers. The three of them spent the night at my place and left at about 7 p.m. the next day to find me transportation to Sušica where I planned to flee. As soon as they left, four Albanian men – Femija, about 45; his brother; Fadilj, the KLA commander in Podujevo; and Isat from Drenica, came in. Isat asked if I had any weapons and said he was going to move his family into my apartment. Fadilj said to him that he was taking me away and that Isat had all day to move his family in. They said we were going to leave at once and that I should take a sweat suit for my son. I started weeping and said to Isat that he could come with his family, that we could all live together, me in one room and they could take the rest of the apartment. They wouldn’t listen. I asked where they were taking me but they wouldn’t say. They led me out to a while Mazda car with Tetovo [Macedonia] license plates. Ismet, from Gostivar in Macedonia, was behind the wheel. My son and I got in the car, followed by Femija and his brother. Fadilj and Isat went back to the apartment.

“I don’t know which road we took. We went through some woods, stopped at a spring where Femija filled a bottle with water for me and my son. We reached the Macedonian border at 10 p.m. Femija got out at the border crossing and his brother pointed his pistol at my son. He said he would shoot him if I tried anything. Femija knew the man in a yellow T-shirt and vest who worked at the border. The man had some kind of tag on his chest but I couldn’t see what was written on it. I saw Fadilj give the man a refugee ID in which there were several bills. The man took the money and put it in his pocket. Femija got me out of the car, the man took my photo with a Polaroid camera so that the picture came out at once. He cut the photo to size and stuck it in the refugee ID. In the meantime, Femija’s brother talked in Albanian with several policemen who worked at the border while Ismet held my son. I tried again to ask them where they were taking me and why but they did not answer.

“Femija’s brother got out of the car when we crossed the border and we drove on for about another hour. We reached Gostivar about 11 p.m. and went into a cafe with a door painted black. We sat down in the garden where there were two or three tables. All the people in the cafe knew Ismet and said hello to him. When I asked yet again where we were going, they replied that we would be there soon. In the cafe, Ismet talked to a man he called ‘Boss.’ The boss asked him if he was bringing something new and Ismet said he was. Then we got back in the car, drove back to the intersection and turned left and then into the first street on the right. It was an asphalt road and a lot of houses were being built alongside. We went by a medical station, across the street from which was the Gurman Cafe. We went into this cafe. There were two booths on one side and a bar with two Romanian women behind it on the other. Ismet went up to them and asked for the boss in Albanian. They greeted him and Femija heartily and asked if he was bringing me from Kosovo.

“They took me up to the stairs to the first floor where there was a striptease bar. It was empty except for the owner and a girl. Then Ismet and Femija and the owner tried to talk me into working there, waiting tables and sleeping with the customers if I wanted to. They said I would get money if I did. I said I had never worked as a waitress before and started weeping and begging them to take me back to Kosovo. We went back downstairs and they led me into a room behind the bar. There were three beds in the room on which two girls from Bulgaria were sitting. They were kind, told me to put my son to sleep in another room and come back. When I came back, the bartender brought some food and soft drinks. After we ate, the two girls went out and locked me in. Ismet and another man, Fadilj from Žerovnica (Zharevice), woke me about 5 a.m. and said I was to go with them. They drove me and my son to the As Cafe in Sankovce (Shakovice) village. It was cheaply furnished. The tables were of planks and covered with checked cloths. There were a lot of girls inside. They took me behind the bar and through a short corridor to a room on the right side. There were six beds in the room, a lot of girls and it smelled horrible. There were about 70 girls from Kosovo, Romania and Bulgaria in this cafe. When Ismet and Fadilj took me to the room, the cafe owner also came. He took my son from me and took him to his house, next to the cafe. From then on, I could only see my son secretly, through a crack in the wall through which I could see into the cafe owner’s yard. His family called my son by a different name and spoke only Albanian with him. When he asked for his mother or said something in Serbian, I heard a woman tell him that mama was gone and that he was not to talk Serbian.

“I was in that cafe from 20 June to 9 September 1999. I was raped three to five times every day. The men almost never used condoms. Many asked specifically for me because they had heard I was Serb. They said they had never had sex with a Serb woman before. After raping me, they would very often beat me. A man once set my clothes on fire. There were about 20 girls from Kosovo there and they were all treated the same as me. One was Serb and, like me, had been brought there with her son. They cut off her son’s tongue before her eyes and forced her to swallow it.”

G.D. was able to steal a cellular phone on 7 September 1999 and call her mother. Two days later, on 9 September, she escaped together with her son.
Source: HLC, witness statement

2.2.3 Set free

N.M.(F); her daughter, Serbs – abducted in mid-October 1999 in Priština.
The mother and daughter were abducted by a group of Albanians in mid-October in Priština. They were taken to a private house near Uroševac where they were physically and sexually abused until they were freed by the UNMIK police in mid-November.
Source: Mother and Daughter Raped Every Day, Kosovo Daily News, 14 November 1999.

3. Detained

Panić, Radivoje (M), Serb, from Priština, Orthodox clergyman – detained by the KLA outside his parish house on 9 July 1999.

Father Panić related the incident to the HLC:
“I left my parish house at noon that day, opened the garage door and got into the car. Suddenly, three KLA members were around me: one on the right side with his fingers on the pin of a hand grenade, another of the left side with his pistol aimed at me – he was shorter than the other two and very dark, about 30 – and the third in front of me with his knife drawn. They ordered me to get out of the car and warned me against trying to escape. One asked why I had taken their car. I said that wasn’t true, that the car was the property of the Diocese of Montenegro and the Coastlands. There was another priest in the parish house but I was afraid to call out to him. The KLA man with the pistol got into the car but couldn’t start it. The other two told me to get in, which I refused to do. I saw that they were in a dilemma – whether to beat me up on the spot or force me into the car. They knew I was a priest because I was in my robe. Then the KLA man in the car started the engine, the other two opened the gate and he drove it out into the street. I saw a lot of people in the street. The two KLA men also went out and left, without saying another word.”

Priests in Gračanica told Father Panić they had seen unidentified men driving the stolen car through the village.
Source: HLC, witness statement
 

DEČANI (DEÇAN)

1. Missing
2. Abducted
2.1. Killed
2.2. Free
2.2.1. Released by the KLA

DJAKOVICA

1. Missing
2. Abducted
2.2. Free
2.2.1. Released by the KLA
2.2.2. Escaped

GLOGOVAC

1. Missing

GNJILANE

1. Missing
2. Abducted
2.1. Killed
2.2. Free
2.2.1. Released by the KLA
2.2.3. Set free

ISTOK

1. Missing
2. Abducted
2.2. Released

KAČANIK (KAÇANIK)

1. Missing
2. Abducted
2.1 Killed

KOSOVSKA KAMENICA

1. Missing
2. Abducted
1.1. Killed
2.2. Free
2.2.1. Released by the KLA

KLINA (KLINE)

1. Missing
2. Abducted

KOSOVO POLJE (FUSHE E KOSOVËS)

1. Missing
2. Abducted
2.1. Killed
1.2. Free
1.2.1. Released by the KLA

KOSOVSKA MITROVICA (MITROVICE)

1. Missing
2. Abducted
1.1. Killed
1.2. Free
1.1.1. Released by the KLA

LIPLJAN

1. Missing
2. Abducted
1.1. Killed
1.2. Free
2.1.1. Escaped

NOVO BRDO

1. Missing
3. Abducted
2.1 Free
2.1.1. Released by the KLA
2.1.1. Escaped
2.2. Detained

OBILIĆ (OBILIQ)

1. Missing
2. Abducted
1.1. Killed

ORAHOVAC (RRAHOVEC)

1. Missing
2. Abducted
1.1. Killed
1.2. Free
1.2.1. Released by the KLA
1.1.2. Escaped
1.1.3. Set free

PEĆ

1. Missing
2. Abducted
2.1. Killed
1.2. Free
1.2.1. Released by the KLA
1.2.2. Escaped
3. Detained

PODUJEVO (PODUJEVË)

1. Missing
2. Abducted
1.1. Killed

PRIŠTINA (PRISHTINË)

1. Missing
1.1. Killed
1.2. Free
2.2.1. Released by the KLA
2.2.2. Escaped
2.2.3 Set free
3. Detained

PRIZREN

1. Missing
2. Abducted
1.1. Killed
1.2. Free
2.2.1. Released by the KLA
2.2.2. Escaped
2.2.3. Set free

SRBICA

1. Missing
2. Abducted
1.1. Free
1.1.1. Escaped

ŠTIMLJE

1. Missing
2. Abducted

ŠTRPCE

1. Missing
2. Abducted
1.1. Killed
1.2. Free
1.2.1. Escaped

SUVA REKA

1. Missing
2. Abducted
2.1. Killed
1.3. Free
1.2.1. Released by the KLA

UROŠEVAC

1. Missing
3. Abducted
1.1. Free
1.1.1. Released by the KLA
1.1.2. Escaped

VITINA

1. Missing
2.Abducted
2.1. Killed
2.2. Free
2.2.1. Released by the KLA

VUČITRN (VUSHTRRI)

1. Missing
2. Abducted
1.1. Free
1.1.1. Released by the KLA
1.1.1. Escaped

ZVEČAN

1. Missing
2. Abducted

Mailsenden