Experts: Investigation into Officials in Zubin Potok Shows Oversight Mechanisms Are Functioning

The Kosovo Police Inspectorate has requested the suspension of two members of the Regional Directorate in North Mitrovica who are suspected of exceeding their powers during a police operation in Dren, Zubin Potok.

According to the K Police Inspectorate, the preliminary investigation began several days ago on its own initiative, following media reports and public statements made on August 11. These reports concern claims by citizen N. R. that Kosovo Police officers exceeded their authority during the intervention.

The Inspectorate’s Department of Investigations will continue its work in cooperation with the Basic Prosecution Office in Mitrovica to clarify all the circumstances and actions of the officials involved.

Professors and security experts assess that this case, like other cases, shows that oversight mechanisms respond to every allegation of misconduct, regardless of the citizen’s ethnic background.

However, they stress that Serbia uses every case involving the Kosovo Police or the country’s other institutions for propaganda purposes.

“The case is under investigation and has not yet reached a conclusion. This has nothing to do with ethnic affiliation, because the institutions of the Republic act in accordance with their responsibilities and powers, without judging the case from an ethnic perspective,” said Dorajet Imeri, a professor and expert on political and security affairs.

According to experts in the field, the developments demonstrate that the Kosovo Police has internal oversight mechanisms and that responsibility is individual, regardless of whether those involved are officials or citizens of a particular ethnic background.

“The K Police Inspectorate works for all citizens of the Republic of Kosovo, while monitoring and overseeing police work. From 2006 to the present, it has handled tens of thousands of cases and has been evaluated positively by both citizens and the international community,” said Arben Dashevci, a security expert.

Meanwhile, several days ago, an AK-47-type weapon was found on the property of Serb citizen Nenad Rashkoviq in Zubin Potok. Investigators suspect that it may have been used in the killing of Albanians during the 1999 war.

The discovery of the weapon has been included in investigations aimed at shedding light on the suspected crimes in Kalludër and Jabukë. It is undergoing forensic examination to determine whether it matches shell casings discovered at locations where mass graves are suspected to exist.

Footage obtained by RTK shows that the weapon had been hidden inside a tree near Rashkoviq’s house and the three mass-grave sites in Zubin Potok.

Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić used the case of Nenad Rashkoviq to criticize the Kosovo Police and the country’s institutions. On August 12, he visited Rashkoviq at a hospital in Belgrade and claimed that the latter had been “beaten almost to death” by the Kosovo Police and that this had happened “for no reason whatsoever.”

However, RTK sources say that Rashkoviq is suspected of having fled toward Serbia to evade arrest by Kosovo authorities as part of investigations into suspected war crimes.