A Serbian court ordered a month's detention on Friday against a Kosovar detained in Serbia days ago, his family members said. On April 17, Serbian authorities detained Sadik Durak from the municipality of Gjakova on suspicion of war crimes. On Friday, his brother, Avdyl Duraku, told Radio Free Europe that the Serbian court has decided to put him in custody for 30 days. He said that the health condition of Sadik Durak is "serious", as he has two stents placed in his heart. Earlier in the day, Avdyl Duraku told the Free Europe Radio that Sadiku, while traveling from Great Britain to Kosovo, on April 16 at around 22:00 p.m. stopped at the border point in Horgosh, which connects Serbia with Hungary. "According to the lawyer, he was arrested on charges of having committed war crimes against the Serbian population," said Duraku.

Based on the decision of the Police Directorate in Kikinda for the detention on April 17, Sadik Durak was ordered to be detained for 48 hours as he is suspected of having committed the criminal offense of "war crimes against the civilian population", and that there is a suspicion that "together with unknown persons during 1999, in the area of ​​the municipality of Gjakova, Prizren and Peja, as a member of the Kosovo Liberation Army, he beat, harassed physically and mentally and robbed the civilian population". Radio Free Europe has contacted the British Embassy in Belgrade about this case, but has not yet received a response. According to Sadik's brother, these accusations do not stand because before the 1999 war, Sadik Duraku lived with his family in England. In the decision of the Police Directorate in Kikinda, Sadik Duraku is a British citizen and lives there. Earlier, Sadik Durak's family members said that they have no information about which detention center he is being held in. "What we know is that he is in Serbia, today he will appear before the court", said Avdyl Duraku.

REL has requested information from the Serbian War Crimes Prosecution on this case. Goran Petronijevic, the lawyer representing Durak, told Radio Free Europe earlier in the day that he had been questioned by the prosecutor and was expected to appear before the pretrial judge. He said he could not provide more information at that time. Avdyl Duraku said that he has informed the Kosovo institutions about his brother's case. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Diaspora and the Ministry of Internal Affairs in the Government of Kosovo have not yet answered Radio Free Europe's questions regarding the case in question. In the early hours of April 17, according to authorities in Kosovo, Serbia stopped dozens of buses carrying about 1.500 Kosovars for more than 20 hours at its border points with Croatia and Hungary. Also, the owners of travel agencies confirmed to Radio Free Europe that buses with passengers were allowed to leave the territory of Serbia on the afternoon of April 17. Meanwhile, Serbia, according to Kosovo, also detained ten police officials, among them a deputy director of the Kosovo Police. That all were released by April 18. /REL