Haradinaj arrested, released, kept in Slovenia

Leader of the Alliance for the Future of Kosovo Ramush Haradinaj was on Wednesday arrested in Slovenia on a Serbian warrant.
Source: B92, Tanjug Wednesday, June 17, 2015 | 23:45

(Beta/AP, file)

He was brought before a court in Kranje in the evening, and released, but his passport has been taken and he will not be able to leave Slovenia "until it is clarified whether the warrant is valid," his party announced.
According to the same sources, quoted by the media in Pristina, he will appear before a judge on Thursday.

Slovenian State Prosecutor Marinka Jeraj explained that despite the fact he was released, Haradinaj will have to stay in the country "until it is clarified whether the warrant is still valid." She could not say how long the procedure might last.

Earlier in the day, Slovenian police spokesman Bojan Kos confirmed that "a citizen of Kosovo" was arrested on a Serbian warrant, without giving the name, and that he would be brought before the District Court in Kranj. According to him, this person "will be able to leave Slovenia only in the evening hours."

Haradinaj earlier in the day spoke for the Pristina-based Albanian language media outlet Gazeta to say he was "not arrested," and add that Slovenia's authorities "reacted on an arrest warrant issued by Serbia in 2006."

However, speaking for another Pristina-based media, Kosova Press, Haradinaj said he was detained at the airport in Ljubljana.

"I have not been arrested, it's just that time is needed for things to be regulated with the Slovenian system," he said, "laughing and adding that he missed his flight to Pristina because of the whole situation."

He also revealed his disappointment with the Slovenian authorities, "and compared them with those in Serbia."

"This warrant has been removed from all airports, except this one in Ljubljana. During my trip I went through several airports and never had any problems, but Slovenians are the same as Serbs, they are their brothers," said Haradinaj, noting he would "stay at the airport for a couple more hours until the complete procedure has been finished."

The Pristina-based daily Koha Ditore cited sources from Haradinaj's party who said he was arrested on a 2006 Serbian warrant "while returning from an official visit to Germany."

Haradinaj was twice tried for war crimes before the Hague Tribunal and both times - in 2008 and 2012 - acquitted of all charges.

Serbia has filed 108 criminal complaints against him.