Lawyer Bogdan Lazić confirmed today that the Kosovo police have deported a member of the Serbian Ministry of Internal Affairs (MUP), Nikola Vujović from Zubin Potok, whom they arrested last night at the Brnjak crossing and stripped of his "Kosovo citizenship".
The lawyer told the Kosovo Online portal that Vujović was deported at the Merdare crossing today around 16 p.m., all his documents were confiscated, and he was banned from entering Kosovo for the next five years.
According to him, Vujović was deported on the grounds that he "endangered national security".
"Because of the threat to national security under Article 24, paragraph 1, of the Law on Citizenship of Kosovo, because he is an employee of the Serbian Ministry of Internal Affairs, or, as they say, of another country, and he did not have the consent of the competent authority of Kosovo," said Lazić.
The lawyer believes that Vujović has not jeopardized security in Kosovo with any of his actions, nor are any criminal proceedings being conducted against him, and that he has family in Kosovo.
"This decision by the Kosovo Ministry of Interior violates his human rights regulated by the European Convention on Human Rights, Article 8, the right to family life, so this measure, I can freely say, is discriminatory and even politically motivated," said Lazić, adding that the defense will file a lawsuit with the Administrative Court within the legal deadline.
Kosovo's acting Minister of Internal Affairs, Dželjalj Svečlja, has decided to revoke the Kosovo citizenship of Nikola Vujović for "endangering national security" by being a member of the Serbian police forces.
The Director of the Serbian Government's Office for Kosovo and Metohija, Petar Petković, announced that the authorities in Pristina detained three members of the Serbian Interior Ministry and one retired police officer at the crossings last night and this morning, without any basis or reason, but solely as a "form of politically motivated retaliation against the Serbian people."
Kosovo expels Serbian police officer after citizenship stripped for security reasons
Kosovo police announced that they have initiated the procedure for the "forced removal" of a person with the initials NV, who was stripped of his citizenship because he is allegedly a member of Serbian intelligence institutions, Radio Free Europe (RFE) reported.
"Pending the completion of these procedures, in order to fulfill the conditions for the execution of the decision, the aforementioned person has been ordered to be detained in the Foreigners' Detention Center," the Kosovo Police said in a statement dated June 14.
Kosovo's acting Minister of Internal Affairs, Dželjalj Svečlja, previously announced that he had revoked the citizenship of a member of the Serbian community, explaining that he had been recruited by Serbian intelligence and security institutions.
In a post on his Facebook account on June 14, Svečlja stated that the Kosovo citizenship of Nikola Vujović, who "represents a threat to our national security as a member of the Serbian police forces", had been revoked.
"As part of a systematic effort to destabilize the Republic of Kosovo, Serbia has employed Kosovo citizens in its security and intelligence institutions, an act that violates our laws and violates our national security," Svečlja said.
The acting minister stated that he made this decision based on the Law on Citizenship, by-laws and recommendations of relevant institutions.
"We cannot and will not tolerate any form of violation of Kosovo's national security by anyone. Kosovo is the country of all our citizens and it will not be tolerated for anyone to become an instrument of undermining its statehood," Svečlja added.
According to the Law on Citizenship in Kosovo, a person loses citizenship if he/she engages in activities that threaten the national security of Kosovo, when he/she is a deliberate member of an organization that aims to destroy or damage the constitutional order of Kosovo; when he/she is a member of the intelligence service or police forces of another state.
Svečlja, however, did not provide any evidence of Vujović's alleged suspicious activities.
Meanwhile, the Kosovo Ministry of Internal Affairs announced that Vujović, being a citizen of Serbia, engaged in activities "that undermine the security of Kosovo, in his capacity as a member of the Serbian police forces - without the consent of the competent authority and without a prior international agreement as prescribed by applicable legislation."
This decision to revoke the citizenship of a Kosovo Serb also comes at a time when Kosovo authorities are arresting individuals from the Albanian and Serbian communities for espionage.
Earlier this month, the Basic Court in Pristina sentenced Aleksandar Vlajić to five years in prison after he pleaded guilty to charges of being involved in espionage as a member of the Serbian Intelligence and Security Agency (BIA).
The BIA has not made any announcements regarding Vlajić, but it has previously denied any connection to the arrested Albanians, who are also charged with espionage.
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