Pristina denies liaison officer's request to visit Serb detainees

BELGRADE- The interim authorities in Pristina have denied a request by Belgrade's liaison officer Dejan Pavicevic to visit two Serb detainees in a Podujevo prison to see the conditions they are being held in and verify that their rights are respected, the Serbian government Office for Kosovo-Metohija said on Friday.

In a statement, it said that, since the arrests of Sladjan Trajkovic and Miljan Adzic, Pavicevic had submitted several requests to visit them, most recently on February 23, through their lawyer.

However, the acting judges banned Pavicevic from visiting the detainees and said "his status was unclear" and that the request was unjustified.

Pristina has thus once again violated the Brussels agreements and flagrantly deprived Trajkovic and Adzic of their rights, the Office said.

"Visits to Serb detainees in Kosovo-Metohija are in line with Pavicevic's authority defined by the Brussels agreement on the liaison officer and are a practice that had been ongoing for years," it said.

The Office said it had also sent a protest letter to Miroslav Lajcak, an EU facilitator in the Belgrade-Pristina dialogue, insisting that he use his authority and position to ensure respect of the agreement and demand from Pristina that it allow the liaison officer to visit the detainees.