Kosovo Serb whose arrest caused crisis released from jail

A former Kosovo Serb policeman whose detention triggered a major crisis between Serbia and Kosovo has been ordered released from prison and be placed under house arrest, his lawyer said Wednesday.

The Dec. 10 arrest of Dejan Pantic led to protests by Kosovo Serbs who erected multiple roadblocks in the north of the country. Pantic was detained for “terrorism” after allegedly assaulting a Kosovo police officer during an earlier protest.

His lawyer, Ljubomir Pantovic, told The Associated Press by phone that a higher Kosovo court replaced his client’s detention with house arrest.

“The (Kosovo) police are obliged to transfer Pantic to the address where he lives” in Serb-populated northern Kosovo, the lawyer said. Pantovic said carrying out the order could prove problematic as Kosovo officers would need to cross the Serb barricades while transporting Pantic.

Kosovo’s prime minister, Albin Kurti criticized the court’s decision to release Pantic to house arrest.

“I’m curious to know who is the prosecutor that makes a request and judge who approves a decision to place someone on house arrest when they have a standing terrorism charge,” Kurti said at a press conference.

Pantic's arrest prompted weeks of tense standoffs, punctuated by gunfire and explosions near NATO-led peacekeepers’ patrols and journalists. No one was seriously injured.

Ultimately, Serbia raised combat readiness of its troops on the border with Kosovo, demanding an end to “attacks” against Kosovo Serbs.

It was not immediately clear whether the former policeman’s transfer to his home would defuse the tensions since Kosovo Serbs and Belgrade have issued several other demands, including the release of two other Serbs and a ban on Kosovo police entering the Serb-populated areas of northern Kosovo.

Kosovo has asked NATO-led peacekeepers stationed there to remove the barriers and hinted that Pristina’s forces would do it if the peacekeeping force did not react. About 4,000 NATO-led peacekeepers have been stationed in Kosovo since a 1998-99 separatist war ended with Serbia losing control over what was then one of its provinces.

Kosovo declared independence from Serbia in 2008. Western attempts to mediate a negotiated settlement to normalize relations between the two have failed, with Serbia refusing to recognize Kosovo’s statehood.

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Dusan Stojanovic reported from Belgrade, Serbia.