Kurti: Pressure on Serbia is the path to uncovering the fate of the missing

Prime Minister Albin Kurti said that exerting international pressure on Serbia, which continues to protect and glorify criminals while concealing and denying crimes, is the only way to uncover the fate of persons forcibly disappeared and pave the way for justice proceedings.

During a visit today to Marinë and Llaushë in Skenderaj, Kurti met with the families of activists Salih Mëziu and Idriz Rrecaj. Both were members of the Group of Intellectuals and were abducted and forcibly disappeared by Serbian armed forces in April 1999. Their remains were discovered in the mass grave in Zubin Potok and identified several weeks ago through DNA analysis.

Kurti said that the families of Salih Mëziu and Idriz Rrecaj, like the family of Adem Beqiri, who was buried on October 3, have now received answers about the fate of their relatives, but are still awaiting justice. He added that the families of more than 1,500 other people who disappeared during the last war continue to face immense pain and an agonizing wait.

On September 28, 2026, the Special Prosecution of Kosovo submitted to the Basic Court in Pristina, Special Department, a request to impose detention on remand on nine people. They are suspected of the criminal offense of “war crimes against the civilian population.”

According to the allegations contained in the Special Prosecution’s request, D.D., M.R., M.R., R.R., S.D., S.D., V.L., R.R. and D.D. are suspected of having participated in the killing and disappearance of 23 civilians in Zubin Potok.

The nine suspects were arrested on September 27, 2026, in Zubin Potok as part of the “File 23” operation. The action is linked to the case known as the Group of Intellectuals and suspicions that the criminal offense of “war crimes against the civilian population” was committed.

Meanwhile, the Institute for Crimes Committed During the War in Kosovo (IKKL) published a preliminary report on the number of victims of the last war on July 29, 2026.

Based on the data in this report, at least 13,227 people were killed, forcibly disappeared or lost their lives as a result of the war during the period from January 1, 1998, to December 31, 2000.