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V.M. pleads not guilty in Vukashinoviq case as detention extended until October 16

The Basic Court in Mitrovica has decided to extend by another two months the detention of V.M., a former member of Serbia’s Ministry of Internal Affairs who is being investigated for involvement in the abduction and wounding of Milan Vukashinoviq.

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The decision to extend the measure was issued on August 13, 2026, and was subsequently upheld by the Court of Appeals. According to Hateme Haxhaj, spokesperson for the Basic Court in Mitrovica, the defendant’s detention has been extended until October 16, 2026.

“The detention measure against the defendant V.M. has been extended until October 16, 2026,” Haxhaj told the media.

During the initial hearing, held on August 31, 2026, V.M. denied the charges and pleaded not guilty. Following the conclusion of the hearing, the criminal proceedings entered the phase of challenging the evidence.

V.M. has been held in detention since his arrest in December 2025, when the investigation into the case of Milan Vukashinoviq, a Kosovo citizen of Serbian ethnicity, began.

The suspicions arising from the investigation concern the events of November 1, 2025, when Vukashinoviq is suspected of having been wounded and then abducted near Leposaviq by members of the Serbian Gendarmerie.

V.M.’s arrest in Leshak on December 20, 2025, was made public by Interior Minister Xhelal Sveçla. The operation was conducted jointly by the Kosovo Police and the Kosovo Intelligence Agency.

Sveçla had stated that V.M. had served in the Kosovo Police following its integration under the 2013 agreement, but later left the force by resigning. According to him, there were suspicions that V.M. was cooperating with Serbia’s security structures and was involved in the Vukashinoviq case.

Under a court-issued search warrant, the Kosovo Police searched V.M.’s home and adjoining premises. As a result of the search, nine mobile phones, one laptop, three documents, a hunting rifle with 39 rounds of ammunition, a hunting ammunition vest and a gun barrel were seized.