Former Kosovo PM Ceku expelled from Colombia
Former Kosovo Prime Minister Agim Ceku, for whom Interpol Serbia has issued an arrest warrant for crimes in Kosovo, has been deported from Colombia, where he was attending a conference.
(KosovoCompromise Staff) Monday, May 11, 2009
The Serbian authorities asked Interpol Colombia to arrest Ceku, but, according to a statement from the DAS state security agency, agency operatives are prohibited from detaining foreign nationals accused of crimes committed prior to 2005.
The former Kosovo prime minister arrived in Colombia on May 3 to attend a seminar on demobilization and disarmament, announced DAS.
Serbian Interior Minister Ivica Dacic confirmed that Ceku was in Colombia, but that that country was unable to make an arrest under existing national law.
Interpol Serbia issued a warrant for Ceku's arrest for numerous crimes committed against the Serb and non-Albanian population in Kosovo during the insurgency in the province in 1999.
According to the Belgrade daily Danas, Ceku evaded Serbian justice thanks to French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner.
Interpol Colombia informed Serbia that Ceku had been located in the country on a red Interpol warrant issued by Serbia.
Having received notification from Colombian Interpol, Serbia took all the stops to have him arrested.
The Serbian Justice Ministry submitted an extradition application for the former Kosovo Liberation Army commander to the Colombian judicial authorities. Soon after, it emerged that Ceku had been deported to France.
According to unconfirmed reports, upon hearing of the deportation, the Serbian Justice Ministry submitted an extradition request for Ceku to France, via the Serbian Embassy in Paris, together with complete documentation linked to the charges against Ceku in Serbia.
French Interpol informed their Serbian counterparts that the reason why no arrest had been made was that he was not being sought by the French judicial authorities.
