The killing of Bytyqi brothers
Encyclopedia
The Bytyqi brothers were three American
-Kosovo Albanians killed by Serb police shortly after the end of the war in Kosovo
, while they were in custody in Petrovo Selo, Serbia
. The bodies of the three brothers were discovered in July 2001 in a mass grave containing 70 Albanians in rural Petrovo Selo, Serbia, near a Serbian police facility. The bodies were found with their hands bound and with gunshot wounds to their heads. The indictment against the alleged perpetrators says the brothers were brought to the edge of the pit and shot in the head, causing them to slump into a mass grave atop 70 corpses dumped there earlier.
Agron (23), Mehmet (21) and Ylli (25) were American citizens of Kosovo Albanian origin born in Chicago
, Illinois
and living in New York
. After the war started in Kosovo they decided to go to Kosovo and fight in KLA
's “Atlantic Brigade”.
In July 1999, and immediately after the NATO campaign in the then Federal Republic of Yugoslavia ended and the Kumanovo Agreement was signed, they helped their neighbors - а Roma family from Prizren
(Kosovo
) - to return to Kraljevo
(Central Serbia
), from where they escaped during the war. Due to a violation of the Law on Movement and Residence of Foreigners, they were arrested along the transit between Kosovo
(staffed by UNMIK) and Central Serbia (staffed by authorities of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia). They were sentenced to 15 days in prison. Twelve days later after appealing, they were released. Their neighbour Miroslav waited to collect them, but the brothers were instead collected by two men driving a white car with no license plates. They were taken to the MUP Special antiterroristic unit (SAJ) base. Two days later, they were killed with bullets fired to the back of their heads, and buried in a mass grave already containing the bodies of the murdered Kosovo
Albanians
.
saw the murder of the Bytyqi brothers as a premeditated crime committed against its citizens; the FBI (Federal Bureau of Investigation) started an investigation while the US Embassy in Belgrade monitored the case carefully.
The main suspect was Vlastimir Đordević, head of MUP’s Public Security and Serbia's assistant minister for internal affairs during the Kosovo war. Đordevic was the commander of the MUP forces in Kosovo in the early 1980s, and one of the most trusted men of Yugoslav president Slobodan Milošević. In July 1999, Miloševic awarded Đordevic the Medal of the Yugoslav Flag of the First Degree. He was forced into retirement in May 2001, when the cold storage truck containing the bodies of Kosovo Albanians was discovered in the Danube. Đordevic is also wanted by the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia
. Before the investigation started, Đordevic relocated to Moscow
, Russia
and since refuses to return.
The killing of Bytyqi brothers is still being investigated by Serbia's War Crimes Court. Milos Stojanović and Sreten Popović, high-ranking police officials, have been on trial since November as alleged accomplices in the murder of the Bytyqi brothers, but were temporarily released from jail in April 2007. In mid-February, the police issued the warrant for Goran Radosavljević
, known by his nom de guerre "Guri", after he failed to show up at a trial of two former Serbian commandos charged in the murders of the Bytyqi brothers. According to the Serbian media, Radosavljevic left Serbia in 2006 Four more officers were detained in late February as the investigation about who exactly ordered and carried out the executions continues. . Milenko Arsenijevic, commander of an elite special police unit and three police officers .
In March 2007, the US Embassy in Belgrade said the U.S. Department of Justice will continue to conduct its own investigation pursuant to U.S. law.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
-Kosovo Albanians killed by Serb police shortly after the end of the war in Kosovo
Kosovo War
The term Kosovo War or Kosovo conflict was two sequential, and at times parallel, armed conflicts in Kosovo province, then part of FR Yugoslav Republic of Serbia; from early 1998 to 1999, there was an armed conflict initiated by the ethnic Albanian "Kosovo Liberation Army" , who sought independence...
, while they were in custody in Petrovo Selo, Serbia
Serbia
Serbia , officially the Republic of Serbia , is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central and Southeast Europe, covering the southern part of the Carpathian basin and the central part of the Balkans...
. The bodies of the three brothers were discovered in July 2001 in a mass grave containing 70 Albanians in rural Petrovo Selo, Serbia, near a Serbian police facility. The bodies were found with their hands bound and with gunshot wounds to their heads. The indictment against the alleged perpetrators says the brothers were brought to the edge of the pit and shot in the head, causing them to slump into a mass grave atop 70 corpses dumped there earlier.
Agron (23), Mehmet (21) and Ylli (25) were American citizens of Kosovo Albanian origin born in Chicago
Chicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
, Illinois
Illinois
Illinois is the fifth-most populous state of the United States of America, and is often noted for being a microcosm of the entire country. With Chicago in the northeast, small industrial cities and great agricultural productivity in central and northern Illinois, and natural resources like coal,...
and living in New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
. After the war started in Kosovo they decided to go to Kosovo and fight in KLA
Kosovo Liberation Army
The Kosovo Liberation Army or KLA was a Kosovar Albanian paramilitary organization which sought the separation of Kosovo from Federal Republic of Yugoslavia in the 1990s....
's “Atlantic Brigade”.
In July 1999, and immediately after the NATO campaign in the then Federal Republic of Yugoslavia ended and the Kumanovo Agreement was signed, they helped their neighbors - а Roma family from Prizren
Prizren
Prizren is a historical city located in southern Kosovo. It is the administrative center of the eponymous municipality and district.The city has a population of around 131,247 , mostly Albanians...
(Kosovo
Kosovo
Kosovo is a region in southeastern Europe. Part of the Ottoman Empire for more than five centuries, later the Autonomous Province of Kosovo and Metohija within Serbia...
) - to return to Kraljevo
Kraljevo
Kraljevo is a city and municipality in central Serbia, built beside the river Ibar, 7 km west of its confluence with the Western Morava. It is located in the midst of an upland valley, between the mountains of Kotlenik in the north, and Stolovi in the south.In 2011 the city has population of...
(Central Serbia
Central Serbia
Central Serbia , also referred to as Serbia proper , was the region of Serbia from 1945 to 2009. It included central parts of Serbia outside of the autonomous provinces of Kosovo and Vojvodina. The region of Central Serbia was not an administrative division of Serbia as such; it was under the...
), from where they escaped during the war. Due to a violation of the Law on Movement and Residence of Foreigners, they were arrested along the transit between Kosovo
Kosovo
Kosovo is a region in southeastern Europe. Part of the Ottoman Empire for more than five centuries, later the Autonomous Province of Kosovo and Metohija within Serbia...
(staffed by UNMIK) and Central Serbia (staffed by authorities of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia). They were sentenced to 15 days in prison. Twelve days later after appealing, they were released. Their neighbour Miroslav waited to collect them, but the brothers were instead collected by two men driving a white car with no license plates. They were taken to the MUP Special antiterroristic unit (SAJ) base. Two days later, they were killed with bullets fired to the back of their heads, and buried in a mass grave already containing the bodies of the murdered Kosovo
Kosovo
Kosovo is a region in southeastern Europe. Part of the Ottoman Empire for more than five centuries, later the Autonomous Province of Kosovo and Metohija within Serbia...
Albanians
Albanians
Albanians are a nation and ethnic group native to Albania and neighbouring countries. They speak the Albanian language. More than half of all Albanians live in Albania and Kosovo...
.
The investigation
Yugoslav authorities showed little interest to investigate cases where Serbian police has acted during the war in Kosovo, but since the brothers were American citizens and due to the pressure from US authorities, an investigation was launched. The United StatesUnited States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
saw the murder of the Bytyqi brothers as a premeditated crime committed against its citizens; the FBI (Federal Bureau of Investigation) started an investigation while the US Embassy in Belgrade monitored the case carefully.
The main suspect was Vlastimir Đordević, head of MUP’s Public Security and Serbia's assistant minister for internal affairs during the Kosovo war. Đordevic was the commander of the MUP forces in Kosovo in the early 1980s, and one of the most trusted men of Yugoslav president Slobodan Milošević. In July 1999, Miloševic awarded Đordevic the Medal of the Yugoslav Flag of the First Degree. He was forced into retirement in May 2001, when the cold storage truck containing the bodies of Kosovo Albanians was discovered in the Danube. Đordevic is also wanted by the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia
International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia
The International Tribunal for the Prosecution of Persons Responsible for Serious Violations of International Humanitarian Law Committed in the Territory of the Former Yugoslavia since 1991, more commonly referred to as the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia or ICTY, is a...
. Before the investigation started, Đordevic relocated to Moscow
Moscow
Moscow is the capital, the most populous city, and the most populous federal subject of Russia. The city is a major political, economic, cultural, scientific, religious, financial, educational, and transportation centre of Russia and the continent...
, Russia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
and since refuses to return.
The killing of Bytyqi brothers is still being investigated by Serbia's War Crimes Court. Milos Stojanović and Sreten Popović, high-ranking police officials, have been on trial since November as alleged accomplices in the murder of the Bytyqi brothers, but were temporarily released from jail in April 2007. In mid-February, the police issued the warrant for Goran Radosavljević
Goran Radosavljević
Goran Radosavljević was a Serbian police general and the first commander of Serbian special police unit Žandarmerija....
, known by his nom de guerre "Guri", after he failed to show up at a trial of two former Serbian commandos charged in the murders of the Bytyqi brothers. According to the Serbian media, Radosavljevic left Serbia in 2006 Four more officers were detained in late February as the investigation about who exactly ordered and carried out the executions continues. . Milenko Arsenijevic, commander of an elite special police unit and three police officers .
In March 2007, the US Embassy in Belgrade said the U.S. Department of Justice will continue to conduct its own investigation pursuant to U.S. law.