Nehat Thaci’s lawyer Sead Spahovic spoke to Balkan Investigative Reporting Network, BIRN, on Wednesday about Serbia’s detainment of Mitrovica police director Nehat Thaci.

“He is suspected of expelling a Serbian family from Lipjan on July 1, 1999 from Kosovo,” said Spahovic. “It’s suspected that Nehat Thaci entered their home and threatened them with a bomb.”

Thaci was arrested by Serbian police on September 28  close to the Kosovo-Serbia border in Dheu i Bardhe / Konculj. On October 1, he was sent to Nis to appear in front of the High Court and sentenced with a 30-day detention measure.

Spahovic told BIRN that the High Court of Nis rejected his complaint against the detention measure for his client.

According to the lawyer, Thaci still has not been questioned by the Serbian prosecution.

Thaci was arrested based on a warrant issued by the Nis Court in 2010. According to a statement released by the Serbian Ministry of Internal Affairs on September 29, his warrant was issued because he is under suspicion for the criminal act of terrorism.

“With the decision of the High Court of Nis in 2010, N.Th. has been sent to detention,” the statement said. However, the statement did not say when the suspected act by the Kosovo Police officer was committed.

A Kosovo official familiar with the case claims that the indictment includes charges for terrorism, war crimes and crimes against humanity. However, according to the official, the alleged crimes were committed after 25 June 1999, when the war ended according to Serbian law.

A substantial number of high Kosovo officials have been stopped in the past at various borders in Europe, based on international warrants issued by Serbia. Kosovo authorities have threatened reciprocity measures after Serbia detained Thachi, and have asked for the case to be addressed in the EU-facilitated dialogue between Kosovo and Serbia in Brussels.