Arson Attack on Kosovo Serb Returnee’s House Condemned

US Ambassador to Kosovo Jeffrey Hovenier (l), Istog/Istok Mayor Ilir Ferati (c) and Minister for Communities and Returns Nenad Rasic (r), visit the burned house in Veriq/Veric on July 11, 2023. Photo: Ilir Ferati/Facebook.

Driton Rugova, police spokesperson for Peje/Pec region, told BIRN that Svetislav Veric's house suffered material damages from the fire set by unknown persons.

"We have not identified any suspect yet. Police are working in coordination with the prosecution in investigating the incident," Rugova said.

He added that at the moment of the incident the house was uninhabited, as the family was on the verge of returning to their home after 24 years after leaving at the end of the Kosovo war in June 1999.

A Pristina-based NGO, the Council for the Defence of Human Rights and Freedoms, CDHRF, said on Wednesday that the attack was "a flagrant act against human rights" and called for swift action by law enforcement.

"We ask the Kosovo government to allocate necessary funding for renovation of the damaged house in order to create conditions for the physical return of the returnee and guarantee his safety," CDHRF said.

Kosovo's Minister for Communities and Returns, Nenad Rasic, an ethnic Serb, said that the family had expected to return home "in the coming weeks".

He added that the ministry has taken measures "to rebuild and renovate the damaged house immediately after the incident".

On Tuesday, Istog/Istok Mayor Ilir Ferati joined US Ambassador Jeffrey Hovenier in a visit to the burned house where he called on police to investigate the incident and bring the culprits to justice.