[A-List] KLA Commander Ceku Arrested In Bulgaria, Serbia Seeks Extradition

[Tony B.]

----- Original Message ----- 
From: Rick Rozoff
To: stopnato at yahoogroups.com
Sent: Wednesday, June 24, 2009 9:14 AM
Subject: [stopnato] KLA Commander Ceku Arrested In Bulgaria, Serbia Seeks 
Extradition






http://news-en.trend.az/world/wnews/1493102.html

Trend News Agency
June 24, 2009

Ex-Kosovo PM arrested by Bulgaria on Serbian warrant

Former Kosovo Prime Minister Agim Ceku was arrested by Bulgarian authorities 
on Tuesday on an old Interpol arrest warrant issued by Serbia, a party 
spokesperson told Reuters.

"He was arrested at the Macedonian-Bulgarian border. We expect to be 
released soon but we don't know if that will happen tonight or tomorrow," 
Gezim Kasapolli a spokesperson from Ceku's party said.

Serbia indicted Ceku, a former top commander of Kosovo Albanian fighters 
during the 1998-1999 war, and some other Kosovo leaders, including current 
Prime Minister Hashim Thaci, on suspicion of committing crimes against 
Serbs.

The Kosovo government has asked Interpol and other countries to ignore 
Serbia's request.

Last month Ceku had left Colombia following an expulsion order from the 
local security agency after Serbia authorities asked their Colombian 
counterparts to arrest him.

This is the fourth time Ceku has been stopped, but the authorities in 
Slovenia and Hungary on those occasions have never handed him over to 
Belgrade authorities.

Kosovo's Albanian majority backed by the Western countries declared 
independence in 2008 and was recognized by 60 countries including Bulgaria. 
But Serbia has said it will never recognize an independent Kosovo.
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http://www.b92.net/eng/news/politics-article.php?yyyy=2009&mm=06&dd=24&nav_id=60037

Beta News Agency/Tanjug News Agency
June 24, 2009

Serbia submits extradition request for Ceku

SOFIA: The Serbian Justice Ministry has sent the Bulgarian authorities an 
official application for Agim Ceku's extradition, B92 understands.

Earlier this morning, the Bulgarian prosecution remanded the former Kosovo 
prime minister, arrested last night on the Bulgaria-Macedonia border, in 
custody for 72 hours.

Prosecutor Boris Velchev said that he was awaiting documentation from 
Interpol, after which a decision would be taken on whether to extradite Ceku 
to Serbia. Ceku was arrested last night in Gushevo, at the entry point into 
Bulgaria, on a red arrest warrant issued by Interpol.

The Bulgarian BTA agency states that, after reveiwing the documentation, the 
Bulgarian prosecution will take a decision on whether to hand Ceku over to 
the Serbian authorities to stand trial for war crimes, or to release him.

A spokesman for Ceku’s Social Democratic Party of Kosovo, Gezim Kasapoli, 
said that he had traveled to Sofia for talks with Bulgaria’s deputy interior 
minister and other senior officials.

“Ceku traveled to Sofia where he had been invited to an official meeting 
with the Bulgarian deputy interior minister,“ said Kasapoli, adding that 
talks were under way to secure his release.

However, the Bulgarian Foreign Ministry stated that the former Kosovo leader 
had not received an official invitation to visit Bulgaria.

“Ceku did not have an official invitation, nor was the ministry advised that 
the former Kosovo prime minister had such an invitation,“ Bulgarian Foreign 
Minister Milen Keremechiev told the Kokus agency.

Keremechiev added that the Bulgarian Foreign Ministry was in permanent 
contact with the Kosovo authorities, who had been informed of Ceku’s arrest.

Former Foreign Minister Solomon Pasi said that he had invited Ceku to visit 
Bulgaria. Pasi said that he was in permanent working contact with the fomer 
Kosovo leader, with whom he had exchanged visits.

In the indictment that the Serbian judiciary raised, Ceku, a former Kosovo 
Liberation Army commander, is accused of command responsibility for the 
deaths of 669 Serbs and 18 other non-Albanians.

Ceku has already been arrested on two previous occasions — the first time in 
October 2003, at Ljubljana Airport, and the second time at Budapest Airport, 
in February 2004, though he was released on both occasions. He was also 
deported from Colombia in May 2009 on the basis of an Interpol warrant.

Serbian Interior Minister Ivica Dacic has confirmed the news of Ceku’s 
arrest.

He said that he believed that the Justice Ministry should immediately send 
an extradition application, since political pressure would soon begin to be 
exerted from various sides to secure the former Kosovo leader’s release.
===========================
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