UNMIK "concerned about arrest of Igor Popovic, carefully monitoring situation"

Igor Popovic; Photo: Office for Kosovo and Metohija

The United Nations Mission in Kosovo and Metohija (UNMIK) has expressed its concern over the arrest of the assistant director of the Office for Kosovo and Metohija, Igor Popovic.

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In a written response to Tanjug, UNMIK called for all applicable procedures to be implemented quickly and in accordance with the standards of human rights and the rule of law.

When asked for comment regarding the arrest and whether it would react to it, UNMIK's representatives stated that they were closely monitoring the situation.

"The Special Representative of the Secretary General (SRSG) of the UN and the head of UNMIK (Carolin) Ziadeh has repeatedly called for restraint and for the parties to remain constructively engaged in the dialogue with the mediation of the EU," was UNMIK's response.

Popovic was arrested on Friday after attending a commemoration on the anniversary of the murders and kidnappings of Serbs in the Orahovac region perpetrated by the-so called KLA ("Kosovo Liberation Army").

On Monday, Popovic was placed in 30-day detention for making a statement after the memorial service - simply because he called those who killed 47 innocent Serbs and Romani and kidnapped more than a hundred during July 1998 by their right name.

(Telegraf.rs/Tanjug)