A Kosovo Serb suspected of war crimes was detained for 30 days after a hearing on Tuesday at Prishtina Basic Court.

Sinisa Spasic attended the hearing two days after he was arrested over allegations he committed war crimes against the civilian population during the 1998-99 war in Kosovo.

“After the hearing, the pre-trial judge assessed that legal requirements have been met for the detention measure because there is well-founded suspicion that he, in complicity, committed the criminal offence of war crimes against the civilian population,” said a court press release.

The court said that the gravity of the criminal offence is “of a serious and complex nature, therefore the imposition of pre-trial detention is a necessary measure”.

The prosecution alleges that on April 6, 1999, Spasic, together with other uniformed members of Serbian police and army “robbed and burned houses as well as killed unarmed civilians”.

“After robbing the money, they had forcibly taken victim B to the second floor of the house, where they had initially beaten, abused and raped her one after the other, causing her the same serious bodily injuries,” Kosovo’s special prosecutor said in the detention request.

Prosecutors listed eight civilians who were killed during the operation.

Ljubomir Pantovic, Spasic’s lawyer, said they will appeal the verdict. He said the prosecution’s request for a 30-day detention did not meet the basic conditions and should not have been accepted.

“It is very important to mention that the investigation into the crime which is being blamed on Mr. Spasic started in 1999, 26 years ago,” said Pantovic.

He added that investigations into the crimes linked to Spasic were first conducted by the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia (ICTY) and then by UN- and EU-led missions in Kosovo, before being transferred to Kosovo’s own prosecutors.

“During these 26 years, no one in any context related that crime to Sinisa Spasic until a month and a half ago, when one witness remembered that Sinisa also participated in this crime. But he forgot to say it for 26 years. After that, the memories of more witnesses were refreshed,” the lawyer said.