Five Serbs from Strpce placed under house arrest

Among the arrested Serbs, four are members of the Kosovo police.Lawyer Miodrag Brkljac told the press on Thursday that the members of the Kosovo police were released from custody and that they were put under a one-month house arrest on suspicion of betraying official secrets and abusing their official positions.The penalty for criminal offences facing the four Serbs defendants is up to 10 years in prison, said Brkljac, adding that the house arrest order can be appealed at the Appellate Court in Pristina.Two days ago in Strpce, Kosovo police special units arrested policemen Dejan Stevanovic, Radisa Jovanovic, Dragan Markovic and Dejan Jorgovic.Head of the provisional municipal authorities in Strpce Ivan Redzic told the press that a house arrest order has been issued for forestry worker Dragutin Ivanovic who was also arrested on Tuesday, but his case is not connected to the case of the four police officers.Redzic thanked the Serbian government’s Office for Kosovo for providing legal aid.He said he is confident that the case has been politically motivated and aimed at destabilizing the Serbian community in Strpce, expressing the hope that this destabilization will not happen.The arrest of the five Serbs from Strpce sparked unrest in recent days with local residents gathering downtown on several occasions to express their disapproval of such police activities in the area.