Skopje, 16 August 2024 (MIA) - At an emergency session Friday, the Judicial Council adopted a decision to establish a committee that will investigate the decisions made by the Basic Criminal Court in Skopje in relation to the case concerning Blerim Ramadani who escaped from house arrest in Skopje during an extradition procedure.

The head of the Judicial Council, Vesna Dameva, at the beginning of Friday’s session said she hasn’t received any formal reports over the cases, but the Judicial Council has an obligation to react.

“As head of the Judicial Council, I believe it necessary to establish a committee and determine the facts about this as soon as possible so we can present concrete information to the public. Whether something happened or not we shouldn’t make assumptions, the reaction of the Judicial Council at this moment, in line with its authorizations, is to investigate the situation,” Dameva said.

The committee is composed of Judge Aleksandar Kambovski from the Basic Criminal Court in Skopje, Judicial Council deputy head Hanif Zendeli and Judicial Council member Pavlina Crvenkovska.

“After confirming the situation, the committee is obliged to draft a report which it will deliver to the Judicial Council, and on the basis of which the Judicial Council will deliberate and make a decision,” Dameva said.

Former Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA) member Blerim Ramadani escaped from house arrest from the home of his relatives in the country on Thursday.

Ramadani, who is from Kosovo, was arrested on July 17 at the Kosovo-Macedonian border after an Interpol warrant was issued on Serbia’s request. Afterwards he was placed in 30-day extradition detention in a Skopje jail.

On August 1, a judge at the Basic Criminal Court in Skopje ordered Ramadani’s detention to be replaced with house arrest valid until August 16.

Ramadani’s arrest warrant is based on Serbia’s claims that reportedly Ramadani as former KLA member had committed war crimes in the region of Nerodime. 

Photo: MIA Archive