Kosovo arrests five Serbs suspected of 1999 Račak war crimes

Kosovo's Special Prosecutor's Office announced that five retired Serbian police officers were arrested on suspicion of participating in the 15 January 1999 massacre in the village of Račak. The operation was carried out on Sunday in the municipalities of Štrpce and Gjilan, after which the suspects were taken to the Basic Court in Pristina.

The men’s lawyers said the prosecution is trying to assign collective guilt, stating that “pripisuje kolektivnu krivnju” and that the indictment “strpao u jednu vreću” without specific evidence for each individual. They warned a pre‑trial detention could still be imposed. Serbian authorities described the arrests as political persecution, accusing Pristina of “systemic political and institutional violence”. Kosovo officials, including Interior Minister Xhelal Sveçla, said the arrests demonstrate that war crimes will not go unpunished. The case is part of a broader investigation that previously indicted 21 persons in absentia for the Račak killings, which killed 42–45 Albanian civilians and helped trigger NATO’s 1999 bombing campaign. A sixth suspect remains at large.