Only head of detention center can file request for transfer

PRISTINA - After a panel of international judges decided that Oliver Ivanovic, leader of the Citizens' Initiative "Freedom, Democracy, Justice" (GI SDP), should remain in detention, a request for his transfer could now be filed only by the head of the detention center, EULEX Spokesperson Irina Gudeljevic said on Wednesday.

In a statement to Tanjug, Gudeljevic explained that the panel of judges decided that, at the moment, only the head of the detention center could lodge a request for Ivanovic's transfer and that "the parties have no right to appeal" against the decision.

The defense of the GI SDP leader demanded that Ivanovic be transferred for reasons of security from the detention unit in Pristina to the one in northern Kosovska Mitrovica, which is populated mostly by Serbs and a home to Ivanovic's family.

An international judge at the Basic Court in Mitrovica approved the request by Ivanovic's attorney, but a prosecutor with the Kosovo Special Prosecution Office lodged a challenge against the decision.

After that, the panel of international judges at the Basic Court in Mitrovica accepted the challenge and decided that Ivanovic should remain in the detention unit in Pristina.

Nebojsa Vlajic, Ivanovic's attorney, has told Tanjug that the decision has been made without any reasoning, and noted that it constitutes a precedent, taking into account that since 1999 and the arrival of the military and civilian mission, no request has been rejected. "This is the first time that a prosecutor lodges a challenge against the decision on a transfer and that the decision is overturned," he added.

Ivanovic's health has deteriorated since he was informed about the decision, the attorney noted.

Ivanovic...