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MONTHLY REPORT ON THE VIOLATION OF HUMAN RIGHTS AND FUNDAMENTAL
FREEDOMS IN KOSOVA DURING AUGUST 1996

Apart the violence which has been continuously perpetrated against
Albanian population in Kosova, the Serbian civilians, presenting
themselves as policemen, with their unjustified terror, have been
stopping the Albanian civilians, legitimating, plundering and
physically ill-treating them. On the other hand, the Serbian
police, on the pretext of weapon searches, has been raiding,
arresting, physically ill-treating and sentencing the Albanians,
while Serbian civilians at the same time have been killing,
wounding and threatening innocent people without being scared from
the consequences of the trial in the court.

Thus, on August 20, nearby Lubjana Bank in Prishtina, two Serbian
civilians, presenting themselves as policemen, stopped in the
street Avni Zeqiri (1982), a cigarette seller, took him behind the
building, physically maltreated him and confiscated from him 210
dinars and 8 packs of cigarettes. After gaining his conscience, he
told the two policemen in the street what had happened to him. His
father also reported this case to the police station "Qendra", but
nobody cared about the above mentioned case.

As in April and June, also on August 2 and 29, 1996, there were
some "enigmatic" explosions in the following places: in Prishtina,
at the local police station "Qendra" in "Muhaxheri" quarter; in
Lluzhan village near Podujeva; at the local police station in
Kkrpimeh village and at the local police station in Kosuriq village
near Peja. After these acts, large Serbian police forces blocked
all the crossroads and started the harassments and brutal
maltreatment of Albanian civilians. The main characteristics of
this repressive campaign were the very ruthless raids. As an
example is the case of Ryve Dizdari, and her family, when on August
29, after "the explosion of two bombs" at the local police station
in Gallapek village near Peja, a Serbian police squad raided many
houses in Kosuriq village, among which the house of Ryve Dizdari.
The policemen arrested Ryve and kept her for 48 hours at the police
station where they maltreated her physically. She suffered head
injuries as a result of which she had to lie in the hospital and
now she is in a very bad physical and psychological condition.
While, in Llabjan village, a Serbian police squad consisting of 30
policemen and five State Security inspectors, went in the house of
Ryve's mother, Nurije Kelmendi, aged 66, and searched for her sons
Zenel (1950), a lawyer and a member of the CDHRF, and Qerim, a
student. The policemen also surrounded other houses and fired at
Shkodran A. Kelmendi (16). Shkodran frightned started to
run away but the policemen catched him in the garden of
the house of Shaban C. Kelmendi and physically ill-treated him in
front of the children and women. The policemen interrogated Zenel's
wife, Florije Krasniqi, took Nurije as hostage and arrested
Shkodran Kelmendi. After 40 minutes, the same police squad returned
to the same village, entered the house of Nurije, raided,
demolished many furniture, tore the photos and confiscated some
national symbols. These waves of repression, which have been
repeated as provocations caused farther aggravation of the
situation in Kosova, which up to the present has been very tense
and dramatic. Besides, these acts were used as a pretext for the
unceasing and more severe violence perpetrated against passengers
and political, trades union and humanitarian activists in these
localities.

During the August 1996, Serbian state authorities and police,
maltreated 575 Albanians in the following ways:

     - 132 cases of arbitrary arrests;
     - 117 families were raided;
     - 137 persons were physically ill-treated;
     - 387 persons were psychically ill-treated;
     - 10 persons suffered body injuries;
     - confiscation of passports of 9 persons;
     - 259 persons were physically ill-treated on the pretext of
          searching weapons;
     - 62 persons were taken to so-called "informative talks";
     - 70 persons were summoned to the police station;
     - a mother, aged 66, was taken hostage;
     - 3 Albanian families were evicted from their flats and there
       were settled Serbian families;
     - 4 educational activists were ill-treated;
     - 12 political activists were also ill-treated;
     - 25 women and 11 children were subjected to police brutality;

During this period there were also some police interventions in the
educational institutions.

Sending the Albanian youngsters violently in the Serbian Army,
continued during this month, too. Adim Kastrati from Turjaka
village of Malisheva, who in 1991 had deserted from former-Yugoslav
Army, was arrested and sent to the military barracks in Nish.
During this period, in the district of Kaganik, the local Serbian
authorities left military summons to more than 50 Albanian
youngsters.

Subsequently, we are presenting only some of many cases of human
rights abuses, which were evidenced in CDHRF during the August
1996:

On August 12, 22, 23, 29 and 30, in Kaganik Haki Shehu (1940) and
Avni Shehu (1976) both farmers from Dogana village were summoned to
the police station for weapons. Avni was physically ill- treated at
the police station.

On August 15, in Prishtina, two Serbian policemen searched weapons
in the house of Shkumbin Gashi (1968), in "Aktash" quarter. After
sending him to the local police station "Qendra", the policemen put
some kind of oil in his body and physically ill-treated him,
causing him body injuries. He was ordered to report again to the
police station, where he was again physically ill-treated. Avni has
some photos for the injuries he suffered.

On August 28, in Peja around 40 policemen went in the house of
Halil M. Ibkrdemej (42) from Nabkrgjani village, searched for
halil, raided the house, demolished the furniture, broke the doors
and windows and in front of the children physically ill-treated the
cousins of Halil -  Selim Ibkrdemaj (60) and Rifat Ibkrdemaj (31),
and arrested Halil's brother - Isuf (33).

On August 5, in the cross-border in Hani i Elezit, the police
plundered 5.000 DM from Petrit Grabanica from Shtupeli village, who
was coming back from Germany. The police did not give any
certificate for the plundered money and threatened him that they
would even seize his passport and sent him to the military service.

On August 4, in the airport of Prishtina, the police barred entry
to File Hasanxhekaj from Shipoli village of Mitrovica and her
children Arlinda (7), Majlinda (2) and Arian (1), who were coming
back home from Germany. File and her children were forced to spend
a night at the airport and than the next day to pay new tickets and
go back to Germany.

Prishtina, September 9, 1996            CDHRF Information Service

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