So-called "Kosovo police" arrest 36 Serbs, including one minor, at Gazimestan

BELGRADE - The so-called "Kosovo Police" on Sunday arrested 36 Serbs at the Gazimestan memorial complex near Pristina, Kosovo-Metohija, including a minor who was released following interrogation, said the attorney of one of the arrestees.

The rest of the group had their documents seized and were summoned to appear before a Pristina court on Monday afternoon.

"They are suspected of disturbing public order and peace," attorney Bogdan Hadzi-Lazic said.

The group includes people from Kosovo-Metohija and central Serbia.

They were detained following a St Vitus's Day memorial service for the fallen Serbian heroes of the 1389 Battle of Kosovo against Ottoman Turkish invaders.

At the entrance to the complex, Serbian Orthodox faithful who came to attend the service were searched and manhandled by a large number of uniformed and plainclothes members of Pristina's police.

In a reaction, the Serbian government Office for Kosovo-Metohija said the incidents were a shameful and outrageous act of repression by the Albin Kurti regime and called on international officials to undertake all efforts and diplomatic activities to ensure that all detainees were released.