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

PRIZREN

1. Missing

Tanasković, Dragoljub (M, 53); Vučetić, Dragan (M, 32) Serbs, both captains in the military police reserve; Pantić, Žarko (M); Todorović, Života (M, 32); Filipović, Žarko (M, 37), from Prizren; Cvetković, Bojan (M, 27), Serbian Serbs, from Niš, Yugoslav Army reservists – last seen on 11 April 1999 at Suva Reka on the Priština-Prizren road.

The families have learned that the missing men were travelling in a red Iveco van (license plates PZ 106-341, owned by the Prizren cigarette factory) and were last seen when they turned off the main road toward Lešane (Leshanë), Suva Reka Municipality. Colonel Tomislav Mitić told the families that Captains Tanasković and Vučetić were taking two arrested reservists, Filipović and Cvetković, to Priština. Somewhat later, an Albanian who introduced himself as Baljaji (Balaji) said he was the KLA commander in Prizren, called Col. Mitić, said he had Capt. Vučetić and would exchange him for an Albanian prisoner in Serbia. There was no further word from Baljalji.

Capt. Vučetić’s sister stated that the commanding officer of the police force in Prizren, where her brother worked until he resigned in January 1999, had called her sister-in-law to inform her that a KLA commander named Ekrem Redža³³ (Ekrem Rexha) had contacted him and inquired whether and until when Vučetić had been on the Prizren police force.
Source: HLC, witness statement

³³  Ekrem Redža was killed in Prizren on 8 May 2000.
 

Andjelković, Stojan (M, 47), Serb, from Zojić (Zojiq), Prizren Municipality – disappeared on 5 June 1999 in Prizren.
Source: List of Serbs Kidnapped in Kosovo and Metohija (June-August), KOSOVO.COM

Drakulović, Radivoje (M, 67), Serb, from Prizren (55 Metohijska St.) – last seen on 10 June 1999.

Drakulović’s daughter said her father remained alone in Prizren after her brother and his family fled to Serbia on 10 June. On 24 June, a relative informed them the KLA had forced Prizren Serbs from their homes and that KFOR had found them shelter in some barracks. One day, Drakulović went to check up on his apartment and did not return. Before leaving the barracks, he gave his personal papers and a letter to his family to a friend who was also there for safekeeping.

In the letter, which was undated, he wrote that he had been threatened by the KLA and forced from his home.
Source: HLC, witness statement

Ristić, Andjelko (M, 80); Ristić, Jovanka (F, 76); Ristić, Milevka (F, 50); Ristić, Mirko (M, 52), Serbs, from Dvorane (Dvoran), Suva Reka Municipality – disappeared on 11 June 1999.
Source: Church Committee, Kosovo

Janičević, Stanimir (M, 59), Serb, from Gornje Selo (Gornasellë), Prizren Municipality – disappeared on 13 June 1999.
Source: Church Committee, Kosovo

Mirković, Srečko (M); Mirković, Tomislav (M); Tlokoć, Veselin (M, 71); Jovanović, Dejan (M); Arsić, Jovan (M, 33), Serbs, from Prizren – disappeared on the Prizren-Brezovica road after 14 June 1999.
Source: List of Serbs Kidnapped in Kosovo and Metohija (June-August), KOSOVO.COM

Pantalon, Djordje (M, 31), Serb, from Prizren – disappeared on 15 June 1999 in Prizren.
Source: Church Committee, Kosovo

Veličković, Biserka (F, 48), Serb, from Prizren – disappeared on 15 June 1999 in the Prizren area.
Source: Church Committee, Kosovo

Stanković, Borka (F, 43); her grandson Miloš (9 months), Serbs, from Prizren – last seen on 16 June 1999 in Karadjordjeva Street in Prizren.
Source: Nema ni glasa o Borki i Milošu [No Trace of Borka and Miloš], DANAS, 27 August 1999

Djordjević, Evica (F, 30), Serb, from Prizren (2A Karadjordjeva St.), legal officer with secondary school student hostel – disappeared on 16 June 1999.

A neighbor told the HLC that Ms. Djordjević lived with her brother, a Yugoslav Army reservist who was called when the NATO intervention started. The brother left for Serbia when the Yugoslav Army withdrew from Kosovo and she remained alone in their apartment. An Albanian woman friend offered to move in with Ms. Djordjević to protect her. Ms. Djordjević told her that she had no weapons in the apartment, only the jacket of her brother’s military uniform. When the KLA came to the apartment, the friend told them Ms. Djordjević was a good person and should be left alone. They searched the apartment, found firearms in a bag and said to the friend, “See, there’s your good person!” The KLA members took Evica Djordjević to their headquarters in the former Yugoslav Army Cultural Center, questioned her and then allowed her to go home but ordered her to return the next day. When she returned to her apartment building, she told her friend and neighbors she had kept the guns for self-protection. Her friend went to her home and Ms. Djordjević stayed alone in her apartment that night and was not since again by her neighbors.
Source: HLC, witness statement

Nuhić, Sehida (F), Muslim, from Prizren; Rama, Sefer (M), Muslim, from Musnikovo (Mushnikovë), Prizren Municipality; Hajredin Fadilj (M), Muslim, from Planjan, Prizren Municipality - disappeared in mid-June 1999 in Prizren.
Source: HLC, witness statement

Muharemi, Ramiz (M, 21), Rom, from Prizren – disappeared on 18 June 1999 in Prizren.
Source: Roma in the Kosovo Conflict, ERRC, November 1999

Azari, Fadilj (M), Muslim, from Planjane, Prizren Municipality; his friend Milenković, Momir (M), Serb, from Vrbičane, Prizren Municipality – disappeared on 29 June 1999 in Prizren.

Azari and Milenković left Planjane for Prizren in a yellow Zastava 750 car. A man called Asim thumbed a ride from them at the Muslim village Rečane on Mt. Brezovica and they drove him to Prizren. Azari’s family spoke with Asim who said Azari and Milenković dropped him off in the Rahlin (Rahllin) quarter in Prizren and proceeded to the Kurili (Kurilli) neighborhood where Milenković had a house. Asim was the last person to see the two missing men.
Source: HLC, witness statement

Nekić, Miloš (M, 70), Serb, from Prizren (Narodnih Heroja St.), retired – disappeared in late June 1999.

Nekić’s niece recounted that her mother Magdalena Jovanović fled her home to the Serbian Orthodox seminary when unidentified persons slit the throat of a neighbor in mid-June. Nekić came to the seminary in late June. A few days later, Mrs. Jovanović left for Montenegro while Nekić stayed in the seminary.

Prizren Serbs who had found refuge in the seminary arrived in Serbia in August 1999. Nekić’s relatives inquired about him but were told that he was not at the seminary and that no one had seen him.
Source: HLC, witness statement

Djekić, Srečko (M, 50), Serb, from Dojnice, Prizren Municipality – disappeared in late June when he left the Serbian Orthodox seminary in Priština to meet with an Albanian friend.³⁴
Source: HLC, witness statement

³⁴  Witness statement on Djekić’s abduction, escape and disappearance: Prizren, 2. Abducted.
 

Kadriu, Ljuan (Kadri, Luan) (M); Ekremi, Nedžat (Ekrem, Nexhat) (M), Turks, from Prizren (Nos. 64 and 65 Durmiš Aslani (Durmish Asllani) St.)) – disappeared in early July 1999.
Source: Od dolaska KFOR-a kidnapovano 645 civila [645 Civilians Kidnapped Since KFOR’s Arrival], POLITIKA, 22 October 1999

Ilić, Petar (M, 17), Serb, from Gornje Selo, Prizren Municipality – last seen on 9 July 1999.
Source: Persons missing in relation to the events in Kosovo from January 1998, ICRC

Simonović, Nenad (M, 42), Serb, from Prizren (24 Gani Čavdarbašija (Gani Çavdërbasha) St.)), travel agency employee – disappeared on 16 July 1999.

The majority of Prizren Serbs left the town on 13 and 14 June. Simonović, his mother, wife and three daughters decided to stay. Three armed Albanians came to their house on the night of 13/14 July and demanded that Simonović hand over his weapons. He denied having any. They searched the house, found no firearms and then demanded Simonović’s car. He gave them the registration and keys. At first, the Albanians wanted to take Simonović with them but changed their minds and left, after warning him that his entire family would be killed if he reported them to KFOR.

The next day, Simonović and his wife went to see an Albanian friend to seek help. He offered to put them in touch with foreign reporters under whose protection they could reach Kosovo Polje. On 15 July, Simonović went to see another Albanian acquaintance, Sami, proprietor of the Pojate Restaurant and a grill room in central Prizren, and offered him his house in exchange for Sami’s car since they needed transportation to leave Prizren. Sami took their ID cards and title deed to the house and said he would consult a lawyer as to whether such an exchange could be made. They agreed to meet again the next day at Sami’s grill room. Simonović kept the appointment but Sami did not turn up. This was confirmed by staff at the grill room. Simonović was last seen outside the grill room.
Source: HLC, witness statement

Stevanović, Ljubisavka (F, 63), Serb – disappeared on 20 July 1999 in Prizren
Source: List of Serbs Kidnapped in Kosovo and Metohija (June-August), KOSOVO.COM

Nikolić, Ratko (M); Stanković, Dejan (M), Serbian Serbs, from Niš – last seen on 24 July 1999 in Prizren.
Source: In Prizren Ethnic Cleansing of Non-Albanians Continues, KOSOVO DAILY NEWS, 15 August 1999.

Stančić, Milan (M), Serb, from Prizren – disappeared on the night of 26/27 July 1999.

A neighbor recounted to the HLC that Mrs. Stančić fled Prizren to Serbia while her husband stayed. It was his custom to hang the cage with his budgerigars on the terrace every morning and then have coffee with his neighbors. The neighbors called him in the morning of 27 July but there was no reply nor was the bird cage on the terrace. The neighbors called KFOR, a patrol came and entered the apartment. There were no signs of a forcible entry but Stančić was not there. A few days before Stančić’s disappearance, KLA members came to his apartment looking for weapons, the neighbor added.
Source: HLC, witness statement

Zeković, Vojislav (M, 58), Serb, from Prizren – last seen on 29 July 1999.
Source: Persons missing in relation to the events in Kosovo from January 1998, ICRC

Antić (first name unknown) (M), Serb, from Prizren, son of Dobrila Antić – disappeared in July 1999 when he left Brezovica to where he had been displaced to check up on his apartment in Prizren.
Source: Church Committee, Kosovo

Jeftić, Budimir (M, 72), Serb, from Prizren – disappeared in July 1999.
Source: Persons missing in relation to the events in Kosovo from January 1998, ICRC

Mirčević (first name unknown) (M), Serb – disappeared in early August 1999 in Prizren.
Source: In Prizren Ethnic Cleansing of Non-Albanians Continues, KOSOVO DAILY NEWS, 15 August 1999.

Nikolić, Tatjana (F), Serbian Serb, from Kruševac – disappeared in early August 1999 in Prizren.
Source: In Prizren Ethnic Cleansing of Non-Albanians Continues, KOSOVO DAILY NEWS, 15 August 1999.

Stojković, Dejan (M), Serb, from Štrpce – disappeared on 4 August in Prizren.
Stojković came to Prizren on 4 August to see his grandparents. He was last seen in a car with the license plates PZ 216-53.
Source: In Prizren Ethnic Cleansing of Non-Albanians Continues, KOSOVO DAILY NEWS, 15 August 1999.

Petković, Vidoje (M), Serb – disappeared on 4 August 1999 in Prizren.
Source: In Prizren Ethnic Cleansing of Non-Albanians Continues, KOSOVO DAILY NEWS, 15 August 1999.

Nikolić, Dragan (M, 28); Arsić, Stevan (M, 36), Serbian Serbs, from Babušnica, Pirot Municipality – disappeared on 7 August 1999 in Prizren.
Nikolić and Arsić went missing in Prizren when transporting construction materials in a truck (license plates PI 226-07).
Source: Ubijeno 11, oteto 20 ljudi [Eleven Killed, 20 Abducted], BLIC, 18 August 1999; Priština Peace and Tolerance Center website

Dimov, Trajče (M, 29), Macedonian Macedonian, from Tetovo – disappeared on 11 August 1999 in Prizren.
Dimov was last seen transporting foodstuffs to Prizren in a truck (license plates TE 448-98).
Source: Ubijeno 11, oteto 20 ljudi [Eleven Killed, 20 Abducted], BLIC, 18 August 1999; Priština Peace and Tolerance Center website

Stanojević, Stanislav (M), Serb – disappeared on 13 August 1999 in Prizren.
Source: Ubijeno 11, oteto 20 ljudi [Eleven Killed, 20 Abducted], BLIC, 18 August 1999

Mojsilović, Dragan (M, 24), Serbian Serb, from Prokuplje - disappeared on 15 August 1999.
Belgrade newspapers reported that Mojsilović was staying temporarily in Štrpce village. On 15 August, he left for Prizren to bring his mother and sister to Štrpce.
Source: Ubijeno 11, oteto 20 ljudi [Eleven Killed, 20 Abducted], BLIC, 18 August 1999; Majka i beba žive zapaljene [Mother and Baby Burned Alive], POLITIKA, 28 June 1999

Stojković, Dragana (F, 33), Serbian Serb, from Niš – disappeared on 15 or 16 August 1999 when she came to Prizren to take her grandparents out of Kosovo.
Source: Ubijeno 11, oteto 20 ljudi [Eleven Killed, 20 Abducted], BLIC, 18 August 1999

Šurdić, Dragan (M, 37), Serb, from Prizren (7 Lenjinova St.), mechanical engineer, employee of Prizren waterworks – disappeared on 18 August 1999

Šurdić lived with his 72-year-old mother who is blind and hard of hearing. She told the HLC that armed KLA members came to their apartment on 17 August and threatened to kill them unless they moved out. In the evening of 18 August, Mrs. Šurdić took some sleeping pills, fell asleep and did not hear what happened to her son.
Source: HLC, witness statement

Mirković, Stojadin (M); his wife Mirković, Rada, Serbs, from Prizren – disappeared after 23 August 1999 in the Prizren area.
Source: Church Committee, Kosovo

Batronožić, Mirko (M), Serb – last seen on 2 September 1999 in Prizren.
Source: Kosovo Flash News, KOSOVO DAILY NEWS, 3 September 1999

Jovanović, Miloš (M, 49); Djukić, Stevan (M,63); Djukić, Jovanka (F), Serbs – disappeared on 3 September 1999 in Prizren.
Source: Killing, Torching and Expulsion, KOSOVO DAILY NEWS, 7 September 1999

Čeku, Fahri (Çeku Fahri) (M, 49), medical technician; Tufa, Suzana (F, 29), nurse, Roma –disappeared on 4 September 1999 in Prizren.
Source: Ubistva i otmice civila (jun-septembar) [Killing and Abduction of Civilians (July-September)], ODGOVOR, 23 September 1999

Dojčinovski, Trajče (M, 30), Macedonian Macedonian, from Skopje, truck driver – last seen on 6 September 1999 in Prizren.

Dojčinovski disappeared on 6 September when he arrived in Prizren from Tetovo, Macedonia, with a load of foodstuffs ordered by an associate in Prizren.
Source: Od dolaska KFOR-a kidnapovano 645 civila [645 Civilians Kidnapped Since KFOR’s Arrival], POLITIKA, 22 October 1999

Biliban, Ekrem (M, 29), Turk – disappeared on 7 September 1999 in Prizren.
Source: Rafal na kolonu Srba [Fire Opened at Column of Serbs], BLIC, 15 September 1999.

Stojković, R. Dragan (M, 33), Serb, from Prizren, employee of Prizren utilities company – last seen on 7 September 1999 near Landovica (Landovicë) village on the Prizren-Suva Reka road.
Source: Rafal na kolonu Srba [Fire Opened at Column of Serbs], BLIC, 15 September 1999.

Aslani, Tefik (Asllani, Tefik) (M, 46); his relative Kuksi, Aćif (Kukësi, Aqif) (M, 52), Turks – last seen in Prizren on 8 September 1999.
Source: Rafal na kolonu Srba [Fire Opened at Column of Serbs], BLIC, 15 September 1999.

Sagati, Ahmet (M, 51), Muslim, from Prizren (entrance 1, building VII, Ortolak (Ortakoll) neighborhood)), employee of Printeks textile factory – last seen on 11 September 1999.

Sagati’s brother-in-law Džemail (Xhemaill) stated that he and his wife last saw Sagati when they visited with him on 11 September. They left him about 9 p.m. to return to their village Rečane (Reçan) and invited Sagati to come to see them the next morning. Sagati did not come and three days later they went to Prizren to look for him. Neighbors told them they had not seen Sagati recently. They reported his disappearance to UNMIK and KFOR.
Source: HLC, witness statement

Jović, Stojadin (M, 63), Serb – disappeared on 15 September 1999 in Prizren.
Source: Nastavljen teror nad srpskim stanovništvom [Terrorization of Serb Population Continues], DANAS, 20 September 1999

Lukić, Petar (M, 32), Montenegrin Montenegrin; Lulić, Zekrija (M, 26); Montenegrin Muslim, from Cetinje, truckers – disappeared on 15 September 1999 in Prizren.
Source: Nastavljen teror nad srpskim stanovništvom [Terrorization of Serb Population Continues], DANAS, 20 September 1999

Simić, Ljubiša (M, 42), Serb – disappeared on 15 September 1999 in Prizren.
Source: Nastavljen teror nad srpskim stanovništvom [Terrorization of Serb Population Continues], DANAS, 20 September 1999

Cvetović, Dragan (M); Veljković, Bane (M, 69), Serbs; Redžepi, Beskim (Rexhepi Bashim) (M, 46); Batoli, Osman (Batolli Osman) (M, 39); another four unidentified Roma – disappeared after 15 September 1999.
Source: New Wave of Violence, KOSOVO DAILY NEWS, 19 September 1999

Cvetković, Dejan (M), Serb – disappeared on 23 September 1999 in Prizren
Source: Albanian Terrorists Burn Alive Six-Month Baby, KOSOVO DAILY NEWS, 26 September 1999

Ogarević, Božidar (M, 76), Serb, from Prizren (45 Durmiš Aslani St.) – disappeared on 29 October 1999.

Ogarević’s daughter recounted that the family fled Prizren on 14 June. Only her father stayed to take care of his 96-year-old mother, who was the last person to see him in the morning of 29 October. In early November, her brother called her to say amateur radio operators had passed him a message from Father Ilija of the Serbian Orthodox seminary in Prizren that their father was missing.

Father Ilija learned of Ogarević’s disappearance from KFOR. Ogarević had gone to buy bread at a bakery some 100 meters from his home in the morning of 29 October and failed to returned. His mother called neighbors who informed KFOR and the International Red Cross. The elderly woman was in Prizren until 25 February 2000 when she was evacuated to Serbia by the International Red Cross.

Ogarević’s son spoke with an Albanian neighbor in Prizren, Ljuan Emra (Luan Emra), who first told him his father had been killed and, later, that he had heard this was not true. Emra lived opposite Ogarević and on 28 October, when he saw him last, advised him to keep off the streets as much as possible.
Source: HLC, witness statement

Jovanović, Tomislav (M, 45), Serb, from Gornje Selo, Prizren Municipality, employee of Prizren-Prevoz – disappeared on 1 November 1999.
Mrs. Jovanović stated that her husband went missing after he left home for work at 9.30 a.m. on 1 November.
Source: Church Committee, Kosovo

2. Abducted

Šalja, Beaidin (Shala, Beaydin) (M, 34), farmer; Morina, Mahmut (M, 34), Turks, from Mamuša (Mamushë), Prizren Municipality – abducted in April 1999.

Raman Šalja stated his brother, eight-year-old nephew Ergilj (Ergyl), and Morina went to a hill known as Kolibar (Kollibar) to round up livestock belonging to Albanians who had fled the village in order to make a list, take care of the animals and return them to their owners when they came back to Mamuša. Somewhat later, Ergilj came running home and told his uncle that four Serbian soldiers had tied up his father and Morina and taken them away. The boy said the soldiers were in camouflage uniforms with red strips on their lapels.

Hasan Hajredini, a member of the KLA, told Raman Šalja that he had seen his brother and Morina in a shed close to the vineyards, that they were bound, and that he was unable to help them as there were many Serbian soldiers at the location. A friend told Raman Šalja he had heard on Radio Deutsche Welle that his brother was in the Sremska Mitrovica prison in Serbia. The names of Beaidin Šalja and Mahmut Morina, however, are not on the official lists of Kosovo detainees and prisoners in Serbia.
Source: HLC, witness statement

Stevanović, Vlastimir (M, 29), Serb, from Dojnica, Prizren Municipality, civilian, employed as waiter by the Yugoslav Army – abducted on 12 June 1999 near Skorobište (Romaje), Prizren Municipality; S.Z. (M), Serb, from Prizren, who was with Stevanović, managed to escape.

At noon on 12 June, Stevanović and his friend S.Z. left Dojnica in a yellow Zastava 750 (license plates PZ 100-90) for Prizren. They were stopped at a KLA checkpoint outside Skorobište. S.Z. told the HLC that two KLA members in camouflage uniforms and armed with automatic rifles ordered them out of the car to be searched. S.Z. is certain that one of the men, who was about 30, was from the nearby village of Koriša (Korishë).

After searching S.Z., the KLA men found that Stevanović had an automatic rifle he had received from the Yugoslav Army. As Stevanović and the KLA men argued about the rifle, S.Z. jumped over a fence and ran away. The KLA men fired after him but missed. S.Z. walked back to Dojnica and fled to Serbia with his family.
Three days later, Stevanović’s father Slobodan was abducted by the KLA from the home of his other son (building 2, entrance IV, Dositejeva St.) in Prizren. He was held in the cellar of a house belonging to a Serb who had fled, Dragan Spasić, together with Stanković Novica (20). Stevanović and Stanković were freed by KFOR the same day.³⁵
Source: HLC, witness statement

³⁵  Witness statement on abduction and freeing of Stevanović Slobodan and Stanković Novica: Prizren, 2.2.3. Set free.
 

Ilić, Ilija (M, 49), Serb, from Prizren, employee of Prizren waterworks – abducted on 14 June 1999.

A group of KLA members came to Ilić’s home. When Ilić handed over his gun, the KLA men took him away.
Source: Church Committee, Kosovo

(Last name unknown), Dejan (M), Serb, from Prizren, medical technician at the Prizren hospital – abducted by the KLA on 15 June 1999.³⁶
Source: HLC, witness statement

³⁶  Witness statement on the abduction of Dejan: Prizren, 2.2.1. Released by the KLA.
 
 

Ristanović, Momčilo, Bosnian Serb, refugee, employee of the Prizren Monuments Protection Authority – abducted by the KLA from his apartment in Prizren on 17 June 1999.

Mrs. Ristanović and her son were told by neighbors that Muhamed Krasnići (Muhamed Krasniqi), an Albanian who subsequently moved into their apartment, and another man wearing a black uniform with KLA insignia, came on 17 June, tied up her husband Momčilo Ristanović, forced him into a van parked outside the building and drove him away. The nameplate on their apartment door was removed and replaced with another inscribed KLA.

Mrs. Ristanović heard from friends that her husband was taken to Tuzla, Bosnia-Herzegovina, in order that the Bosnian authorities could determine whether he had been indicted for war crimes. The Bosnian authorities officially notified her that they were not holding her husband and that he had not been indicted.
“When I received the notification, I made a statement to KFOR in Štrpce. Robert Paliuk, a Polish member of KFOR wrote up a report and sent it to the UNMIK police in Prizren. He said it would be a month before the reply came. A month later, they told me to wait another 10 days. I went to KFOR again on 4 May 2000. Paliuk told me he hadn’t received a reply yet but they were going to Prizren the next day and I could go with them.

“We started out at 8 a.m. on 5 August and went first to the UNMIK police. Paljuk gave them my particulars, ID card, and the title deed to the apartment in Prizren. Then, with three UNMIK policemen and an Albanian woman interpreter, we went to our apartment. The window panes were broken and there was a nameplate reading Krasnići on the door. We rang the bell but no one answered. An Albanian woman resident went to call the woman who was living in our apartment and was visiting with another neighbor. She came, unlocked the door and said she lived there. The policemen showed her the title deed and said it was my apartment. She just shrugged and said she knew nothing about it. She said she was the wife of Muhamed Krasnići, that she was in Montenegro with her children, that her husband first lived in the apartment with some other man and afterwards brought her and the children back from Montenegro. We asked about her husband but she said she didn’t know where he was or when he would be back. I asked her to let me take a look at my things. The apartment had been looted, the carpet burnt and only the big pieces of furniture were left. I asked her if I could take my electric heater and some other things but she said she couldn’t let me have anything without asking her husband first. Then we left and they drove me back to Štrpce at 5 p.m. the same day.”

Robert Paliuk, Mrs. Stevanović’s, only contact with KFOR, was transferred to Kačanik so that she has no information on whether or not an investigation was instituted by UNMIK.
Source: HLC, witness statement

Šasivari, Maljić (Shasivari, Maliq) (M, 63), Muslim, from Grncare (Grëncare), Prizren Municipality, retired – last seen on 27 June 1999.

Mrs. Šasivari told the HLC that her husband left home at 8 a.m. on 27 June to see his sister in the nearby village of Skorobište. He did not return that day and Mrs. Šasivari and her son went to Skorobište early the next morning to look for him. Her sister-in-law told her that he had not been to see her.

They went then to the KLA headquarters in Skorobište. A KLA member by the name of Velija (Vellija) promised to try to find Šasivari and, while they waited at the headquarters, three other KLA men left to seek information about him. They returned shortly and said they had not been able to find out anything. Mrs. Šasivari and her son returned home and reported Šašivari’s disappearance to KFOR, the UNMIK police and the International Red Cross.

A few days later, a Skorobište Albanian told them he had seen several men in uniform stop Šasivari at the substation near Dojnice village. An argument ensued, and the uniformed men took Šasivari away with them. The Albanian believes they were KLA but is not certain as they were too far away for him to make out their insignia. Mrs. Šašivari’s daughter went again to the KLA headquarters in Skorobište and spoke with two KLA men, Binak and Jusuf, both from Koriša village. They said they would try to find out who had taken her father but never contacted her again.
Source: HLC, witness statement

Spasić, Jefta (M, 70); his wife Spasić, Bosiljka (69); Stefanović, Milica (F, 70); Stevanović, Slavica (F, 40); Antić, Čedomir (M, 70); Antić, Marija (F, 70);, Nikolić, Vasiljka (F, 72); Djekić, Draga (F, 70); Djekić, Srečko (M, 50); N.B. (M, 75); S.M.; Radivojević, Tomislav (M, 70); his wife Radivojević, Moma (70); Stojković, Trifun (M, 84); Stojković, Živka (F, 80); Stojković, Natalija “Natka” (F, 79), last remaining Serbs in Dojnice, Prizren Municipality; Natalija Stojković’s brother (last name unknown), Bogdan, from Brbičane (Berbiqanë), Prizren Municipality – abducted on 27 June 1999.

Srečko Djekić, N.B. and S.M. were able to get away and conceal themselves until they were found by KFOR and escorted to the Serbian Orthodox seminary. A few days later, Srečko Djekić left the seminary to meet with an Albanian acquaintance from Skorobište, Prizren Municipality, and failed to return.
The son of Jefta Spasić, Djuro, stated that his father discussed the surrender of arms by the Dojnice villagers with Ekrem Redža, the local KLA commander, and Suljejmani Rifat (Sulejmani Rifat), also a KLA member and a former Yugoslav Army officer. The agreement was for a KLA group to come to Dojnice to collect the weapons. This did not happen as a clash between Serbian forces and the KLA occurred in neighboring Skorobište village that same day. The Dojnice villagers heard about the fighting and sought refuge at the Serbian Orthodox seminary in Prizren. A few days later, the Spasićs and about a dozen other Serbs returned to their village.

Djuro Spasić told the HLC that the KLA attacked Dojnice on the day the villagers returned, torched the houses and took away the Serbs. His friend B.D. was in a field not far away when he saw smoke rising above the village, went to investigate and saw KLA members loading the villagers into a truck and driving them away. He observed three KLA men lifting the elderly Spasić into the truck as the women stood in a group on the road.

Another HLC witness, the son of the missing Antićs, stated that a Dojnice villager, Boško, was in a field from where he saw a large number of KLA members in the village and the houses burning. He went immediately to Prizren and reported the attack to KFOR. When KFOR reached Dojnice, the houses were still burning but no one was there. Shortly afterwards, they heard Srečko Djekić, S.M. and N.B. calling from their hiding place. Djekić had been wounded in the leg. The KFOR members gave him first aid and then took them all to the seminary. A few days later, Albanians from Skorobište asked for a meeting with Djekić. He left the seminary to keep the appointment and never returned.
Source: HLC, witness statements

Gaši, Djemailj (Gashi, Gjemail) (M), Turk – abducted by the KLA in early July 1999.

According to media reports, Gaši was abducted because he did not speak Albanian.
Source: Od dolaska KFOR-a kidnapovano 645 civila [645 Civilians Kidnapped Since KFOR’s Arrival], POLITIKA, 22 October 1999

Kastrati, Enver (M, 21); his daughter Samira (6 months); his sister Mirijeta (17); Roma, from Prizren – abducted in early July 1999.

Unidentified Albanians forced their way into the Kastrati home in the Roma neighborhood of Prizren, slit the throat of Ljuan Kastrati (Luan Kastrati) and took away his son Enver Kastrati, his daughter Mirijeta, and Enver’s baby daughter Samira.
Source: Od dolaska KFOR-a kidnapovano 645 civila [645 Civilians Kidnapped Since KFOR’s Arrival], POLITIKA, 22 October 1999

Blagojević, Srečko (M, 59), Serb, from Ljubidža (Lubizhde), Prizren Municipality, retired – abducted by the KLA from his home on 2 July 1999.

Duško Blagojević recounted that his parents, wife and five children were at home in the evening of 2 July when four armed and uniformed KLA men, including Sami Vehabi (22) from Ljubidža, came to the family’s house. In Serbian, the KLA men said they needed a statement from the elder Blagojević and took him to their headquarters, promising to return him soon.

The same KLA men came back at 2 a.m. that night, without Srečko Blagojević, and demanded to see his son, who had in the meantime returned home, heard that his father had been taken and concealed himself. The KLA men searched the house, aimed their cocked guns at the members of the family and threatened to kill them all. They claimed to have found out that Duško Blagojević had been called up for military service and had killed Albanians. Duško Blagojević’s 14-year-old daughter was so frightened that she lost the power of speech.

The Blagojević family remained in the village until 10 July when KFOR transferred them to the Serbian Orthodox seminary. With a KFOR escort, Duško Blagojević’s wife returned to the village on 12 July for some belongings but found that their house had been burned down. The family fled to Serbia on 15 February 2000.
Source: HLC, witness statement

Fazlić, Muharem (M, 41), Muslim, from Nebregošte (Nebregoshi), Prizren Municipality, courier – abducted by the KLA on 11 July 1999.

Fazlić and his wife were walking home in the afternoon of 11 July after visiting with relatives in Drvarska Street. They were stopped by five or six KLA members who asked in Albanian for directions. When Fazlić said he did not understand Albanian, the KLA men grabbed him, forced him into a car and drove away.
Source: HLC, witness statement

Djukanović, Dragomir (M, 71), retired; his son Djukanović, Jovica (44), director of the Meteorological Bureau, Serbs, from Prizren (5/2 Djerdapska St.) – abducted on 12 July 1999.

Djukanović’s daughter stated that her brother Jovica and his wife, who were staying in Brezovica, Štrpce Municipality, came to Prizren on 11 July to see his parents. Early on 12 July, his wife went to the pharmacy where she had worked to pick up her papers. She was accosted there by several Albanian civilians who threatened to kill her unless she left Prizren immediately. Her former colleagues, fearing that she would be injured, led her out of the pharmacy. Since she had been away longer than expected, her mother-in-law went to look for her about 9.30 a.m. Shortly afterwards, five men, none of whom older than 30, came to the Djukanović home. Three were in black uniforms and two in civilian clothes. The three uniformed men remained silent while the two in civilians did all the talking and used Serbian. They searched the apartment and demanded that the Djukanović father and son hand over their weapons. The elder Mrs. Djukanović, who had returned home in the meantime, told them they had a certificate proving that there were no firearms in the house, which had been issued to them earlier by the KLA. The men then ordered Jovica Djukanović to go with them to the KLA headquarters; his father objected and insisted that his son be questioned in his home. The men assured him that his son would be back in half an hour, adding that he could go too if he did not trust them. They told Mrs. Djukanović to get the certificate and when she came out of the house with it, the three uniformed KLA men put her husband and son in an ivory Mercedes 163 and drove them away. Mrs. Djukanović did not see where the two men in civilian clothes went. When her daughter-in-law returned, they went to KFOR to report the incident.

Djukanović’s daughter was in Belgrade at the time and, when she heard about the abduction of her father and brother, she telephoned her friend Ekrem Redža, a KLA commander. Redža told her he could not speak with her on the phone and that she could send him a letter by a man he designated. She wrote and asked if he knew what had happened to her father and brother. Redža replied shortly, saying he did not know their whereabouts or who had abducted them, that he was afraid her father might be dead as he knew the KLA shot elderly persons they took in, but that he was not certain if her father was among those shot as his name was not on the list of people the KLA considered war criminals.
Source: HLC; witness statement

Mladenović, Dragana (F), Serb, from Prizren – abducted by Albanian civilians in mid-July in Prizren.

Before her abduction, Mrs. Mladenović was threatened with death unless she moved out of her house. She refused, her house was set on fire and her six-month baby boy Sava was thrown into the flames.
Source: Od dolaska KFOR-a kidnapovano 645 civila [645 Civilians Kidnapped Since KFOR’s Arrival], POLITIKA, 22 October 1999

Radojković, Velimir (M), Macedonian Serb, from Skopje, driver with the IGM-Skopje company – abducted about 11 p.m. on 16 July 1999 near the Djeneral Janković border crossing between FR Yugoslavia and Macedonia.

Radojković and another IGM-Skopje driver were hauling construction materials from Macedonia to Skopje. The other driver, who was right behind Radojković’s truck, saw when four armed Albanians in a Mercedes without license plates abducted Radojković near the border crossing point.
Source: Kidnapovan vozač IGM-Skoplje [IGM-Skopje Driver Kidnapped], POLITIKA, 21 July 1999

Caca, Abdulah (M, 50); his son Caca, Abedin (26), Roma, from Prizren (14 Podrimska St.) – abducted on 18 July 1999.

Mrs. Caca recounted that her husband and son left home in the morning of 18 July for the nearby village of Dušanovo (Dushanovë) where they had a metalworking shop. They did not return and she went to Dušanovo the next day to look for them. The shop had been looted. Some children playing outside told her four men, two of whom in KLA uniforms and wearing glasses, had come in a jeep the previous day about 11 a.m., entered the shop and ordered her husband and son to get in their Renault 4 car and follow the jeep. The two vehicles drove off in the direction of the Djakovica road.

Mrs. Caca then went to the KLA headquarters in the Ćulhan (Qulhan) neighborhood of Prizren where she spoke with a KLA commander called Baša (Basha). He told her he had no knowledge of her husband and son and that the KLA was not responsible for their abduction. Baša added that KLA uniforms were often abused, that the abductors might have been Serbs or criminals from neighboring Albania, and promised to let her know if he heard anything.

After some time, Mrs. Caca went to the KLA headquarters again. This time she spoke with one Osman, who also said the KLA had no reason to abduct her husband and son. Osman explained to her that the manner of their abduction differed from that of the KLA who, he said, would have also torched the Caca house and taken her as well. In the event she received a ransom demand, he said she should immediately report this to the KLA headquarters and refrain from handing over the money.

Mrs. Caca reported the disappearance of her husband and son to KFOR and the International Red Cross.
Source: HLC, witness statement

Bens, Afrim (M), Rom, from Prizren – abducted by the KLA after 20 July 1999.³⁷
Source: HLC, witness statement

³⁷  Witness statement on the abduction of Bens: Prizren, 2.2.1. Released by the KLA.
 

Todorović, Marko (M, 47), Serbian Serb, from Belgrade, driver with the Moć Prirode company – disappeared on 21 July 1999 on the road between Prizren and Lipljan.

Todorović’s sister and mother recounted that a private businessman from Prizren to whom Todorović had delivered goods called them on 23 July to inquire if he had arrived home safely. The businessman called again three weeks later to say he had learned that Todorović was abducted by the KLA, that he was being held in one of the KLA camps in the hills around Prizren and would most probably be exchanged for Kosovo Albanian prisoners in Serbia.

Todorović had a mobile phone on him at the time of his abduction. The Mobtel Company established that the phone was used in the 6-18 August period. The person or persons using the phone called numbers in Switzerland, Austria, Germany, two numbers in Montenegro and one in Serbia. The Montenegrin police checked out the two numbers in Montenegro but were unable to obtain any information about the possible abductors.
Source: HLC, witness statement

Antić, Zlatko (M, 35), Serb, from Prizren, technician with PTT company – abducted on 28 July 1999 in Prizren.

Mrs. Antić said her son and his family, like the majority of Prizren Serbs, left the town on 14 June for Brezovica, Štrpce Municipality. He asked his Albanian neighbors to look after his apartment and left them the key. About 7 p.m. on 28 July, he returned to Prizren in his dark red Yugo Florida car for his mother-in-law. Wishing to check up on his own apartment, he went to get the key from the neighbors. Five minutes later, six armed KLA members came in, shouted, “So! You’re hiding Serbs!” and took Antić and the woman neighbor to the KLA headquarters in the former Yugoslav Army Cultural Center for questioning. The neighbor was released several hours later, and she and her husband fled Prizren.
Source: HLC, witness statement

Seferi, Bajram (M), Muslim, from Musnikovo, Prizren Municipality – abducted by the KLA on 30 July 1999 from a cafe in Recane, Prizren Municipality.

Sefer went to nearby Recane on 30 July to buy construction materials. He stopped by the cafe owned by Jusuf Jašarević where he met two friends, A.N. and A.R. Soon afterwards, five young men in civilian clothes who said they were KLA police came in, ordered Sefer to go with them and drove him away in a Golf car.
Source: HLC, witness statement

Nikolić, Stanoje (M), Serb – abducted on 4 August 1999 in Prizren.

Nikolić was beaten by a group of Albanians in the street but managed to get away. He went to the hospital for medical attention but the assailants caught up with him before he reached it and took him away.
Source: In Prizren Ethnic Cleansing of Non-Albanians Continues, KOSOVO DAILY NEWS, 15 August 1999

Gunice, Adem (M), Turk, from Prizren (145 Durmiš Aslani St.) – disappeared in early August 1999. Gunice was abducted from his apartment by unidentified persons.
Source: Priština Peace and Tolerance Center website

Cvetanovska, Ljiljana (F), Serb, from Prizren (apart. 4, 65 Karadjordjeva St.) – abducted on 11 August 1999.

Ljiljana Cvetanovska was taken from her apartment by unidentified persons on 11 August. She had complained earlier to the Peace and Tolerance Center that some Albanian civilians had burst into her apartment and physically abused her.
Source: Ubijeno 11, oteto 20 ljudi [11 Killed, 20 Abducted], BLIC, 18 August 1999; Priština Peace and Tolerance Center website

Tošić, Ilija (M), Serb, from Prizren (14 JNA St.) – abducted from his apartment by unidentified persons on 12 August 1999. The abductors looted the apartment and set it on fire.
Source: Ubijeno 11, oteto 20 ljudi [11 Killed, 20 Abducted], BLIC, 18 August 1999; Priština Peace and Tolerance Center website

Aleksijevski Toni (M, 27), Macedonian Macedonian, from Skopje, truck driver - abducted on 13 August 1999 in Prizren.

Aleksijevski was abducted by unidentified persons as he was unloading goods he had hauled from Macedonia in his truck.
Source: Ubijeno 11, oteto 20 ljudi [11 Killed, 20 Abducted], BLIC, 18 August 1999; Priština Peace and Tolerance Center website

Lazić, Bojan (M, 26), Joksimović, Dejan (M, 36), Serbs, from Prizren – abducted by unidentified persons on 13 August 1999 in Prizren.
Lazić and Joksimović fled Prizren in mid-June and returned on 13 August to check up on their houses.
Source: Nastavljen teror nad srpskim stanovništvom [Terrorization of Serb Population Continues], DANAS, 20 September 1999

Veljković, Stanislav (M), Serb, from Prizren (60 Radeta Končara St.) – abducted from his home on 13 August 1999 by unidentified persons who also looted and torched the house and business premises.
Source: Ubijeno 11, oteto 20 ljudi [11 Killed, 20 Abducted], BLIC, 18 August 1999; Priština Peace and Tolerance Center website

Aleksić, Bojan (M, 19), Serb, from Prizren (Dositeja Obradovića St.) – abducted from his apartment by unidentified Albanians on 14 August 1999.
Source: Ubijeno 11, oteto 20 ljudi [11 Killed, 20 Abducted], BLIC, 18 August 1999.

Jovanović, Velimir (M), Serb, from Prizren (Dositeja Obradovića St.) – abducted from his apartment by unidentified Albanians on 14 August 1999.
Source: Ubijeno 11, oteto 20 ljudi [11 Killed, 20 Abducted], BLIC, 18 August 1999.

Stanojević, Žarko (M); his sister Stanojević, Dejana, Serbs, from Prizren – abducted by the KLA on 14 August 1999.
Source: Ubijeno 11, oteto 20 ljudi [11 Killed, 20 Abducted], BLIC, 18 August 1999.

Jokić, Zlatko (M, 47), Serb; Jetisi, Usni (Jetishi, Usni) (M, ethnicity unknown), from Prizren – abducted by unidentified persons in the evening of 16 August 1999.
Source: Priština Peace and Tolerance Center website

Takić, Veselin (M, 71), Serb – abducted by a group of Albanians in late August 1999.³⁸
Source: Massacre of Serbs in Prizren, KOSOVO DAILY NEWS, 1 September 1999

³⁸   Witness statement on the abduction of Takić: Prizren, 2.1. Killed.
 

Patrnogić, Tihomir (M, 85), from Prizren (81 Petra Kostića St.), retired – abducted on 1 September 1999.

Patrnogić’s sister recounted that he went to the post office on 1 September to complain that their telephone was out of order. She tried to persuade him to stay at home as the town was crowded because it was a market day and she was afraid for him. He disregarded her fears and left for the post office at 11 a.m. She learned later from post office staff that he had been there, that the malfunction was fixed and he left for home. Acquaintances told her they saw uniformed men stop her brother just outside the post office and take him away.
Some 10 days later, an Albanian she did not know came to her apartment. Speaking Serbian, he told her that Patrnogić was alive and well and would soon be released. He left without saying how he obtained this information. Patrnogić did not return and his sister fled Kosovo to Serbia in late January 2000.
Source: HLC, witness statement

Jovanović, Dragan (M), Serb, from Prizren (98 Dositejeva St.) – abducted on 10 September 1999 from his home by unidentified Albanian civilians.
Source: Rafal na kolonu Srba [Fire Opened at Column of Serbs], BLIC, 15 September 1999

1.1. Killed

Father Hariton (Lukić, Radoslav) (M, 40), monk at the Monastery of the Holy Archangel near Prizren – abducted by uniformed men on 15 June 1999.
Father Hariton was driving a Golf car (license plates PZ 120-91) on 15 June when he was stopped and taken away by several uniformed men. A German news reporter witnessed and photographed the abduction and informed Bishop Artemije. He promised to bring the photographs to the Bishop but did not contact the Raška-Prizren Eparchy again.

In late September 2000, representatives of the OSCE mission brought to the Gračanica monastery photographs of remains that had been uncovered in Kosovo. The fathers and lay brothers at the monastery recognized Father Hariton’s robe and rosary, which were handed to them together with an ID card on which only the date and place of Father Hariton’s birth were legible.

The OSCE representatives stated that the decapitated remains of Father Hariton had been recovered from a grave in the Tusus neighborhood of Prizren but did not say when or whether or not a forensic autopsy had been performed.
Source: Raška-Prizren Eparchy; HLC, witness statement

Radivojević, Nikola (M, 60), Serb, from Prizren – disappeared on 27 June 1999. KFOR informed the family that Radivojević’s remains were found on 23 July 1999.
Source: PRAVOSLAVLJE PRESS, 28 July 1999

Skenderi, Djumred (Skenderi, Gjumred) (M, 31), Gorani, from Prizren (195 Ulcinjska St.), employee of Progres-Prizren company – disappeared on 16 July 1999. His body was found on 17 July 1999.

Skenderi’s father recounted that he was at home with his wife, daughter, son Djumred and Djumred’s wife and children when someone knocked at the front door at 9 p.m. His son went to the terrace to see who it was. The family heard him speaking with somebody, he came for the key to the front door and went outside. When he did not return, his father went to look for him. A girl from the neighborhood told him she had seen some men approach his son in front of the house and lead him away at gunpoint. The elder Skenderi reported his son’s disappearance to KFOR and, through an Albanian friend, contacted the local KLA commander, one Elbasan, who told him the KLA had not ordered his son to be captured or killed, and promised to help locate him. At 8.30 a.m. the next day, Elbasan took Skenderi to the outskirts of Prizren in the direction of Petrovo (Petrovë) village and showed him the body of his son, whose skull had been crushed by blows with a blunt object. Elbasan told the father not to touch the body as KFOR had to carry out an investigation.

When Skenderi went to claim his son’s remains after the investigation, the body could not be found as it had been mistakenly buried by KFOR as an unidentified person. He was able to rebury his son the next day, 18 June.
Source: HLC, witness statement

Milovanović, Jovan (M), Serb – disappeared on 26 July 1999. His remains were found in Landovica, Prizren Municipality, on 5 August 1999.
Source: In Prizren Ethnic Cleansing of Non-Albanians Continues, KOSOVO DAILY NEWS, 15 august 1999

Takić, Ana (6), Serb – abducted by a group of Albanians in late August 1999.
Ana was abducted together with her grandfather, Veselin Takić. Her mutilated body, with one arm missing, was found a few days later. The whereabouts of her grandfather remain unknown.
Source: Massacre of Serbs in Prizren, KOSOVO DAILY NEWS, 1 September 1999

1.2. Free

2.2.1. Released by the KLA

G.S. (M, 22), Rom, from Prizren – abducted on 14 June 1999 and held in a KLA prison for over 24 hours.

G.S. was stopped in the street by KLA members on 14 June and taken to the former police station. About a dozen other KLA men were there, four of whom led G.S. into a room in which there was another Roma man of unknown identity. G.S. was beaten and threatened with death unless he admitted to looting Albanian homes. The KLA demanded that G.S. tell them the whereabouts of Luan Koka, a Rom who was on the Serbian delegation at the Rambouillet talks. They told him that Roma and Serbs together looted and torched Albanians homes and that he would be expelled to Serbia just as Kosovo Albanians had been expelled to neighboring Albania.

The next morning, a KLA man came with a list containing the names of 10 to 15 local Roma, including G.S., and demanded that he point out those who were “Serbian spies.” When G.S. said he knew none of the names, the beating continued. He was then made to clean up the building and, when he finished about 10.30 p.m., was told he could go. The KLA threatened to kill him if he went to the hospital or reported them to KFOR.
Source: Roma from Kosovo Testify, ERRC, 2 August 1999

G.N. (M, 36), Serb, from Prizren, employee of the Health Insurance Office – abducted by the KLA on 15 June 1999. He was questioned and beaten and released in the evening. While G.N. was at the KLA headquarters a Serb, Dejan (last name unknown), a medical technician at the Prizren hospital was brought in. Dejan’s whereabouts remain unknown.

G.N. recounted that two Albanians dressed in black with KLA badges and armed with automatic rifles accosted him outside his home at 9.45 a.m. on 15 June. They demanded to see his ID and, establishing that he was Serb, ordered him to go with them. His request to be allowed to go home first to give his family the car keys and money they had collected to leave Kosovo was denied. His Albanian neighbors, who watched the scene, loudly approved the KLA men’s action. The KLA men led him in the direction of the hospital and, when they saw a TV crew in the street, pulled G.N. into a side street and waited for the crew to leave. During these 15 minutes, they beat G.N. with their rifle butts, cursed him and Milošević and asked why he had not yet left Kosovo. G.N. was then taken to the KLA headquarters in a newly built private house. His ID card was taken from him and he was locked in a room. He did not see the KLA men who had brought him in again. G.N. described what happened next:

“There was a set of plastic garden furniture in the room. I immediately noticed traces of blood on the table and in the corners. I was sure they were going to kill me. There were two KLA guards in the room. One put a chair near the wall and order me to sit in it, facing the wall. Then three KLA men came in, one wearing a red beret and carrying a double-barreled shotgun. He was Zenelj (Zenel), the commander, and ordered one of the men to search me. Another pumped a round into the barrel of his gun. They took my papers, 8,500 dinars, family photos, wristwatch and belt. Zenelj ordered me to strip to my underwear, told the soldiers to shoot if I moved, and left. Two KLA men came in five minutes later. One came up and pulled out the chair from under me. When I fell, the other one set on me with a nightstick. The one who had pulled the chair got out a knife, threatened to butcher me and punched me in the face several times. Swearing, all four left the room.

“Through the window, I saw my Albanian friend Č.B. in the yard. Then another two KLA men came in. They brought a hose with which they beat me all over, swearing and insulting me and my family. They too left after a while. Half an hour later, two KLA members who spoke perfect Serbian came in with another Serb, Dejan, a medical technician at the hospital. He had been beaten and was bleeding from the nose. He was in the room for only ten minutes before they came and took him to the next room from which I then heard screams. Two KLA men came into my room and began beating me. One hit me all over the body with a nightstick and the other kicked me. When commander Zenelj came in again after some time, the two men left. Zenelj offered me a cigarette and ordered me to turn to face him. He asked if I had weapons and a uniform or if I had given them back already. He warned me not to lie, saying they had all the information on me and photographs. When I said I had an automatic rifle and pistol, he asked if I would send a message to my wife to bring the weapons to the headquarters, to which I said yes. He left, saying he would let me know what he had decided.

“Two KLA men came in after that, one of whom was missing his right forefinger. They asked the guard if I was the Serb who had been caught that morning and if I had started ‘singing.’ The guard told them they had to work on me some more to make me spill everything I knew. One got a baseball bat, the other a nightstick and they began to beat me, trapping me in the corner of the room. The beat me, cursed my Serb mother, asked how many Albanian children I had killed and said they would do to me what Serbs had done to them. They poured water over me and when I came to ordered me to put my legs through the back of the chair. One first burned me on the legs with a lighted cigarette and then hit me on the soles with a nightstick. The other one beat me with the hose. The guard told the two of them to go just before commander Zenelj came back. He asked if I was ready to call my wife and tell her to bring the guns, and threatened to kill me unless she came within an hour. They ordered me to dress and Zenelj and the KLA guards led me to the neighboring building where they had their headquarters. I telephoned my wife and told her to come with her father and the guns to the gate of the Fadilj Hisari (Fadil Hisari) school.

“Then they took me back to the same room. Zenelj offered me coffee and cigarettes and told the soldiers to leave me alone. He said I would be released when they got the weapons. When he left, a man and a woman, both KLA members, came in. They asked where I had been caught and what I did before the war. The man said he lived in Serbia, in Subotica, with his wife and children and had a cafe near the Orthodox church. He suggested that we get together there for drinks sometime. They looked at my papers and spoke Turkish between themselves. When they were gone, commander Zenelj came back with an automatic rifle. He asked if it was mine and I said it wasn’t and he nodded approvingly. He sat down at the table, opened a notebook and started asking questions about where I had stolen things, killed, raped Albanian women and who was in charge of the Serbian forces’ operations around Prizren. He warned me to tell the truth or every lie would earn me ten blows. When I denied all his accusations, he said I was lying and that I had torched Albanian houses in the Tusus neighborhood. I denied that too and he ordered me to lie face down on the floor with my arms alongside my body. He and the two guards beat me with the baseball bat, nightstick and hose until they were all tired out. Then he ordered me to sit in the chair, angrily cocked his pistol and said I wouldn’t leave the room alive. He asked when I was called up, what assignments I had in the army and if I had torched the Skenderbeg Cafe in Dušanovo village, Prizren Municipality. I denied it and said I had helped many Albanians in the town and he could easily check it out. He was angry, got up and began hitting me on the legs with the nightstick, threatening to break both of them. As he left, he told the guards to shoot me if I tried to escape.

“Soon afterwards, G., an Albanian acquaintance of mine, came in. He was in civilian clothes and unarmed. He asked one of the guards, calling him Nazmi, what I was doing there and who was questioning me. He told the guard I wasn’t to be beaten any more and went out. The guard offered me a cigarette and a drink of water, and said I was sure to be released. Twenty minutes later, Zenelj came back and asked for the names and dates of birth of my family members. He said I would be let go on condition that I cooperated with them. He added that my children would go to an Albanian school and learn the Albanian language because there would be no more Serbs in Kosovo. He gave me three days to collect weapons from all the Serbs who were still in Prizren and said he would kill my children and rape my wife if I didn’t do it. He gave me back my papers but kept my ID, and said I could go.”

G.N. went home and with his family sought refuge at the Serbian Orthodox seminary the same day. KFOR escorted them to Gnjilane from where they fled to Serbia.
Source: HLC, witness statement

Dj.M. (M, 52), from Prizren (5 Lole Ribara St.), building inspector; his wife Dj. S. (49), accountant with the Progres company in Prizren; V.M. (M, 56), secretary of the Red Cross organization in Prizren; Č.S. (M, 54), managing director of the Prizren tobacco factory; J.V. (F, 35), social worker in Prizren, all Serbs; K.B. (M, 55), Serbian Serb, from Kruševac; N.G. (M, 56), Albanian, from Prizren, interpreter - abducted on 16 July, questioned at the KLA headquarters and released.

Dj.M. recounted that, just before 11 a.m. on 16 June, he and his wife went to the Prizren Red Cross where he had earlier worked as a volunteer to meet with friends. V.M., Č.S., J.V., K.B., and N.G. were already there. A few minutes after their arrival, five armed KLA members, some in uniform and others in civilian clothes, entered the building. Since none of those present recognized any of KLA men, the witness believes that they were not from the Prizren area. Only one of them spoke Serbian and introduced himself as Jakob from the vicinity of Mališevo. He demanded that they hand over their weapons. While Dj.S. and J.V. stayed in the Red Cross office, the men, accompanied by three KLA members, went to collect the weapons. Dj.M. described what happened:

“They drove us to our homes in the Red Cross van, first to Č.S.’s, then to V.M.’s and then mine. I gave them an automatic rifle but they claimed I had more firearms. They began to punch and kick me. I swore I had no more weapons and pleaded with them to stop. They just kept repeating in Albanian that I had to hand over more guns. When they realized the rifle was all I had, they led me out to the van and drove back to the Red Cross. From there, they took us all to the building of the Prizren District Prison where the KLA had its headquarters. They questioned us, whether we had taken part in the fighting, robbed or torched Albanian houses, killed or raped Albanian women. We were interrogated by two of their inspectors, who were polite and didn’t beat us. One was wearing a black uniform and the other was in civilian clothes. They questioned me in Albanian because I understand the language. The others were questioned in Serbian. When they finished the questioning about 8 p.m. they let us go home and said we had to report to the KLA headquarters in the morning.

“My wife and I came at 8 a.m. the next day. None of the others did because they had already left town. They told us they had checked out the information we had given them and that everything was in order, and said we were to come again the next day at the same time. We did and they said that there was no need for us to come again, that we were free.”

Dj.M. and his wife stayed in Prizren until the end of August 1999 when they fled to Serbia.
Source: HLC, witness statement

M.A. (M, 69), Serb, from Prizren (10 Mostarska St.), retired – taken to the KLA police prison on 16 June 1999 and held for several hours.

On 14 June, M.A. stated, gunfire was heard in the town and some houses were set on fire. On the night of 14/15 June, unidentified persons threw a hand grenade into his yard and fired off several rounds in front of the house. In the evening of 16 June, KLA police members came and demanded that he surrender his weapons. His Albanian neighbor came to see what was going on and advised him to hand over the weapons. The witness described what happened then:

“They came into the house and started beating me and threatened to kill me. I handed over the guns but they went on beating me. They took me to the KLA police prison in the northern part of town, called Severni Ljakurić (Lakuriqi i Veriut). The prison was in the basement of the white Yugoslav Program buildings near the Yugoslav Army Cultural Center. They continued to beat me there with bats and a rifle butt. I couldn’t see their faces because they were wearing ski masks with slits for the eyes and mouth. They threatened me with liquidation all the time, asked me why I was still in Prizren, said this was Albania, that there was no place for us Serbs here and that all Serbs who had stayed would be killed. They beat and abused me for about three hours. From other rooms I heard the screams of people being beaten. Then they took me out to the corridor in the basement and left me there to wait. I sat on the floor and waited for another hour until a man in uniform and a hood came and told me to get up. He led me outside and told me to go home. It was evening by that time.”

Two days later, on 18 June, M.A. went to the Serbian Orthodox seminary to inquire about leaving Prizren. Returning home, he found KLA men beating his wife and searching the house. The men started beating him too. A KFOR patrol passing the house heard the disturbance and came into the house to investigate. The attackers were arrested, M.A. and his wife were escorted to the seminary from where they fled to Serbia in late August.
Source: HLC, witness statement

B.T. (M, 21), Roma, from Prizren – abducted by the KLA in morning of 18 June 1999, held for five days and released.

B.T. was taken to the building of the former police station, beaten on the way and accused of stealing and killing Albanians. He shouted to draw the attention of people in the street, none of whom reacted. He was held for five days, physically abused and questioned about persons who allegedly committed crimes against Albanian civilians. Asked how he had acquired the 9,700 dinars he had on him, B.T. replied that he sold cigarettes. Claiming that he must have stolen the money, the KLA men took it. Before releasing him, they threatened to kill him if he reported them to KFOR.
Source: Roma from Kosovo Testify, ERRC, 2 August 1999

M.T. (M, 24), Rom, from Prizren (Terzi Mahala (Mahalla e Terzive) neighborhood)) – abducted by the KLA on 27 June 1999, beaten and questioned for several hours before being released.

M.T. recounted that KLA members came to his home on 27 June and ordered him to go with them because their commander wanted to see him. When he refused, one of the men put his pistol to the head of M.T.’s wife and said he would shoot her unless he agreed to go with them. Before leaving with M.T., they told his wife her children’s throats would be slit if she told anyone about her husband being taken.

M.T. was taken to the basement of the school for deaf-mute children where another Rom, P.L. was being beaten and questioned about his son. The KLA gave P.L. three hours to come back with his son and let him go. Then they began to beat M.T. and question him about weapons in his neighborhood, if he had killed any Albanians or raped Albanian women. They demanded that he write down the names of Roma who had looted Albanian houses and asked if he knew where the Roma leader Ljuan Koka (Luan Koka) was. Before being released about 5 p.m., M.T. was threatened with death if he told anyone what had happened.
Source: Roma from Kosovo Testify, ERRC, 2 August 1999

M.L. (M, 19), Rom, from Prizren (Dušanovo neighborhood) - abducted by the KLA on 27 June 1999 and released after several hours of questioning and physical abuse.

M.L. stated that three KLA members came to his home on 27 June and ordered him to go with them to the KLA headquarters to be questioned. They drove him to the school for deaf-mute children where they beat him and demanded that he tell them where he had concealed an automatic rifle. They asked how many people he had killed, how many houses he had torched and where the Roma leader Luan Koka was, threatening to kill him unless he told them everything he knew. M.A. was beaten for four hours and, before being released, threatened with death if he told anyone what had happened. Before he left, the KLA members told him there was no place in Kosovo for Roma.
Source: Roma from Kosovo Testify, ERRC, 2 August 1999

Petrović, Mitra (F, 54); her daughter Andrejević, Danijela (26); her son-in-law Andrejević, Žarko; her grandchildren Andrejević, Darko (4 months) and Andrejević, Tamara (18 months), Serbs, from Prizren (Karadjordjeva St.) – abducted on 9 July 1999.

Danijela Andrejević’s brother recounted that the family were riding in a Lada car driven by a man whose name he does not know. In the town center, unidentified persons opened fire at the car. The driver was killed and Žarko Andrejević was wounded. Leaving the dead man in the car, the assailants pulled out the passengers and took them away. Mitra Petrović, her daughter and grandchildren were subsequently released and found refuge at the Serbian Orthodox seminary. Žarko Andrejević died of his wounds.
Source: Belgrade Centre for Human Rights

G.B. (M, 27), Rom, from Prizren (222 Ulcinjska St.) – abducted by the KLA on 10 July and released 10 days later. G.B. learned subsequently that his relative Afrim Bens was also abducted by the KLA and disappeared.

G.B. stated that five KLA members came to his home on 19 July and took him to the KLA prison in the basement of the school for deaf-mute children. He described his experience there:

“They tried to make me admit I had been mixed up in the looting, which wasn’t true. I was at home during the war. They tortured me, punched and kicked me, and beat me with everything they had at hand – thick sticks, crowbars, bats. My mother died while I was in the prison. The neighbors asked KFOR to get me released so I could bury her. KFOR did nothing and my mother was buried by a neighbor. They let me go after torturing me for 10 days but told me I had to leave the town.”
G.B. fled Kosovo to Serbia.
Source: HLC, witness statement

Altiparmak, Ajse (F), Turk, from Prizren, employee of the Prizren pharmaceutical plant – abducted by the KLA in late June, held and physically abused and shortly released. Altiparmak and her family fled Kosovo for Turkey the day she was released.
Source: Priština Peace and Tolerance Center website

2.2.2. Escaped

N.B. (M, 75); S.M. (M), Serbs, from Dojnica, Prizren Municipality – abducted on 27 June 1999, escaped and later found by KFOR.³⁹
Source: HLC, witness statement

³⁹  Witness statement on the abduction and escape of N.B. and S.M.: Prizren, 2. Abducted.
 

2.2.3. Set free

Stevanović, Slobodan (M), Serb, from Dojnica, Prizren Municipality – abducted by the KLA on 15 June 1999 in Prizren, held in the basement of a private house together with another Serb, Stanković, Novica (M, 20). Both were set free by KFOR the same day.

Stevanović came to Prizren on 15 June to report the abduction of his son, Vlastimir, by the KLA on 12 June, and to check up on the apartment of his other son in Dositejeva Street. When he and his wife came arrived at their son’s apartment in Dositejeva Street (apart. 29, entrance IV, building 2), they found an Albanian, his wife and mother-in-law in it. The Albanians apologized, saying someone had broken into the apartment and they had found the door opened and moved in because their home in the Ortakovo neighborhood had been destroyed. They began to pack to leave. As the apartment door was open, an Albanian woman resident who was in the hallway heard their conversation and shouted to the Albanian family that they should not leave. “It’s been yours for long enough. It’s ours now,” she said to Stevanović The Albanian family then decided to stay, saying that in the circumstances the Stevanović family would not be able to live there anyway, and agreed to leave Stevanović and his wife alone in the apartment until they packed and moved their son’s belongings.
Mrs. Stevanović left to take some things to the apartment of her daughter while her husband stayed. He heard the Albanian woman resident tell someone to call the KLA. A few minutes later, someone banged on the door. Stevanović opened it and saw three armed KLA men in black uniforms. The KLA men searched him, took the 5,000 deutsche marks he had, led him out of the building and forced him into a black Golf car. Two KLA men sat on either side of him in the back seat. At that moment. Stevanović saw his wife coming back and tried to attract her attention by thumping on the car window with his hands, but was beaten down by the KLA men. His wife did not notice him and entered the building. Stevanović was taken to the basement of a house that had been abandoned by its Serb owner. He saw there a young Prizren man, Stanković, who had been abducted the previous day in the town center. Stevanović described what happened next:

“Stanković had his arms and legs tied to a chair. They tied only my hands with a piece of electric cord, left and locked the door behind them. Two KLA members came in later on and questioned me. They asked if the man who had been captured on 12 June in Skorobište was my son, Vlastimir, and said he supposedly had a pistol on him when he was taken, hidden in his sock, and that he had killed one of their soldiers. They said they would give me two days to sell my property and give them 100,000 deutsche marks and they would let me, my son and the youngster go. I said I couldn’t sell my property that fast and offered to sign everything I had over to them if they would just let my son go. I said they could kill me if they wanted.

“The basement had a window and five KLA guards standing outside it. When the first two left, the guards climbed in and began to beat us – with rifle butts, nightsticks and a knife scabbard. They left when they got tired. It wasn’t long when another four came in through the window and beat us again. They too went after a while. The two who had questioned me came in, through the door, and asked who had beaten us. When I said it was the KLA men, they said I was lying. One pushed the barrel of his pistol in my mouth and the other put a knife to Stanković’s throat. Then they brought in three Albanian girls, no older than 14. They lined them up in front of Stanković and asked if he remembered them, to which he said he didn’t. They started beating him and demanded that he admit which one of them he had raped. The girls were scared and ran away and they went out after them.

“A bit later, Stanković started moaning and asked for water. There was a small bottle of water on the table beside us. Since only my hands were tied and he was bound hand and foot, I got up and tried to get the bottle to him somehow. The guard outside the window saw me and started yelling at us. As he was yelling, a KFOR patrol came up from behind him. A KFOR man ran up to see what was going on and the KLA guard took off. The KFOR man spoke a little Serbian. He leaned through the basement window and asked if we were Serbs and what we were doing there. I said we had been taken by the KLA and that they were beating us. The other soldiers in the KFOR patrol came into the house and tried to break down the locked basement door. I shouted to the one who spoke Serbian that they could come in through the window. He took my advice and they came in through the window. In the meantime, other KFOR members battered down the basement door. That’s how we were freed.

“They told us it was dangerous for us to go back to town and said they would take us to the church. They took us first to an abandoned church by mistake and, when they saw it was empty, to the seminary. I asked the one who spoke Serbian to help me find my son and said I didn’t know where my wife was. He replied that he didn’t know how he could help with my son but that he supposed my wife was at the seminary because almost all the Serbs in the town had gone there. My wife was at the seminary when I got there at 11.30 that night. All of us in the seminary left at 6 o’clock the next evening in a convoy of buses under KFOR escort. Just as we were about to leave, Ekrem Redža, the KLA commander in Skorobište, and a woman in KLA uniform stood in front of the convoy and said: ‘Gentlemen, don’t go, there’s no need for you to go. Stay at the seminary for a few days more. The situation is a bit tense now but it will be all right soon. There’s no need for you to leave Prizren. Everything will be fine.’ I went up to him, because I know him, and asked how we could trust him when KLA members had kidnapped my son and beaten me up. He looked at me – there I was, still in my torn and bloodstained clothes. He didn’t reply, just stood there for a while and then went.”
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