And Abducted in Kosovo Province Case Sheets

A BROKEN CIRCLE: “Disappeared” and abducted in Kosovo province Case Sheets

Bekim Lala (27)

Bekim Lala (whose name has also been published as Ljalja) is an ethnic Rom who comes from the town of Djakovica (Gjakovë) in Kosovo province.

Bekim was abducted by unknown men on 27 June 1999. His mother, Fatima Lala, last saw her son in the morning when she said goodbye before he set off for work in the centre of Djakovica.1

His mother Fatima Lala talked to representatives of the European Roma Rights Centre about her son.

“We thought he was at work all day, but in the evening a man who knows him came here to tell us that a Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA) man with a beard had stopped him on the way to work and taken him away.”

Bekim’s mother was visited two days later by a man who told her that Bekim had been detained by the KLA and taken to the "Junik" building in the centre of Djakovica. The man said that he had seen Bekim there and that he had not been hurt.

On Friday July 2, another man visited Fatima Lala to tell her that he too had seen Bekim in the "Junik" building. This man had also been detained by the KLA at the “Junik” building. He told Fatima of how the KLA had beaten and mistreated ethnic Roma who were held there.

Since then Fatima has no news of her son.

1The mother of Bekim Lala, Fatima Lala, interviewed in Djakovica on 6 July 1999 by representatives of the European Roma Rights Centre.

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Bekim Lala

Please write or send a fax to representatives of the Kosovar Albanians saying that you have read about the case of Bekim Lala, who has been abducted. In your letter urge them to use whatever influence they have in ethnic Albanian society to stop human rights abuses being perpetrated against persons of all ethnicities (including Roma, Serbs and ethnic Albanians who are perceived as being “disloyal” to the KLA). Urge them to assist the civilian police and UNMIK, by providing what information is at their disposal regarding those who have been abducted, and to assist in clarifying this and other cases, as well as ensuring that those responsible are brought to justice. Please emphasize that you are concerned about members of all national and ethnic groups who have been abducted or have “disappeared” in Kosovo.

Please note that the address below is for the United States representative of the unofficial “Provisional Government of Kosovo”, led by Hashim Thaçi. Please ask Mr Asanaj to forward your letters and faxes to Mr Thaçi. We will inform you of further methods of approach when we are able to obtain reliable information on the most suitable channels to use.

Send letters to:

The leader of the “Provisional Government of Kosova” Mr Hashim Thaçi c/o The representative of Kosova in the US Mr Dino Asanaj Kosova office 10 East 33 Street New York NY 10016 Salutation: Dear Mr Thaçi Fax: +1 212 481 2665

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A Broken Circle: “Disappeared” and abducted in Kosovo province: Case Sheets 3 ______

Petrija Piljevi (57)

Petrija Piljevi is an ethnic Serb from Priština. She was taken from her apartment on the afternoon of the 28 June 1999. Her sons Dragan and Zoran fled Kosovo province fearing revenge attacks from the ethnic Albanian population at around the time that KFOR forces began to enter Kosovo province on June 12. Petrija Piljevi, who reportedly suffers from cancer of the uterus and angina, remained in her flat. According to Dragan Piljevi, she telephoned him on several occasions and told him that she was being harassed and threatened by members of the ethnic Albanian population in the area.

On 28 June 1999 a neighbour observed three men wearing uniforms of the Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA), accompanied by three of Mrs Piljevi’s ethnic Albanian neighbours, arrive at her house. These men forced Petrija Piljevi to open the door. Although she attempted to ask for assistance at the home of an elderly Serb who lived nearby, she was taken away crying and screaming along with the elderly man. Her whereabouts now are unknown.

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A Broken Circle: “Disappeared” and abducted in Kosovo province: Case Sheets 4 ______

Petrija Piljevi

Please write or send a fax to representatives of the Kosovar Albanians saying that you have read about the case of Petrija Piljevi, who has been abducted. In your letter urge them to use whatever influence they have in ethnic Albanian society to stop human rights abuses being perpetrated against persons of all ethnicities (including Roma, Serbs and ethnic Albanians who are perceived as being “disloyal” to the KLA). Urge them to assist the civilian police and UNMIK, by providing what information is at their disposal regarding those who have been abducted, and to assist in clarifying this and other cases, as well as ensuring that those responsible are brought to justice. Please emphasize that you are concerned about members of all national and ethnic groups who have been abducted or have “disappeared” in Kosovo.

Send letters to:

Amnesty International November 1999 AI Index: EUR 70/124/99 ______

A Broken Circle: “Disappeared” and abducted in Kosovo province: Case Sheets 5 ______

Afrim Dana (47), Albert Dana (31), Luan Dana (19), Labinot Dana (17), Kastriot Dana (31), Gëzim Dana (45), Bekim Beqiri (30)

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Afrim Dana is a clothes designer and tailor, and his nephew Albert owns a restaurant where Luan (Afrim’s son) worked sometimes, although he still a secondary school pupil. Labinot was a mechanic, and Kastriot a waiter, while Gëzim worked with Afrim in his clothing business. The seventh man taken on this occasion, Bekim Beqiri was not a family member, but a neighbour. All are ethnic Albanians from Djakovica (Gjakovë).

The members of the Dana family had remained in their home in Djakovica throughout the period of conflict, believing that they might put themselves at greater risk should they attempt to leave. During this time 19 men, women and children were staying in the same house.

According to Albert Dana’s wife, Serbez, on 7 May those present in the house heard shooting from the direction of the nearby village of Qabrati, but were too scared to go outside. She reported that Serb forces surrounded the area and told everyone to stay in their homes and they would come to no harm. However, over the following two days they continued to hear gunfire, which intensified.

On 10 May, at about 8 am, the family members heard the police entering their neighbour’s house, followed by the sound of gunshots. A group of police then came and knocked on the door of their own house, and when Serbez Dana’s cousin went to open it four of them forced their way in, hitting him and demanding to be told how many family members

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were in the house. They were ordered to exit to the garden, where the men present were separated from the women and children, and made to go out onto the street (their neighbour Bekim Beqiri appears to have been also forced out of his house by the police at this time). As they did so they were punched and slapped; one policeman hit them with the butt of his rifle. Serbez Dana’s grandmother, who screamed at the police to let her sons go, was also hit by one of the policemen. The women and children then were also ordered to leave the house and garden; Serbez Dana requested and was granted permission to re-enter the house to fetch some clothes for her baby, but told to hurry because the house would be set on fire after five minutes.

When she reached the street she could not catch sight of the men from her family, but saw a number of other men from neighbouring houses being taken away by police. She and the other women from her family were taken to the centre of town, where they were made to wait with many other women and children for about two hours, until they were told to go to the bus station where they would find their menfolk. However, they were stopped en route by another group of police, who ordered them to go to the “Social” building, where they were to hand over their identity documents. They were made to wait for a further two hours until a number of buses arrived. Many of the women and children boarded these buses, but Serbez and other members of her family managed to persuade the police to let them stay in the town (the buses were intended to transport people to Albania), where they remained until KFOR forces entered the town on 14 June.

One of the men taken on this occasion, Ilirian Dana, was later released, reportedly because he was of advanced age. One member of the family who was interviewed by Amnesty International says that before his release he was beaten. He was able to identify the four police as local to the town.

Serbez Dana also reported that four other cousins were taken on the same day but she did not observe the circumstances of their arrest.

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A Broken Circle: “Disappeared” and abducted in Kosovo province: Case Sheets 8 ______

Afrim Dana, Albert Dana, Luan Dana, Labinot Dana, Kastriot Dana, Gëzim Dana, Bekim Beqiri

Please write or send a fax to the Yugoslav authorities, saying that you have read about the "disappearance" of the members of the Dana family and Bekim Beqiri and that you are concerned about them and other persons of all nationalities from Kosovo province who have “disappeared” or been abducted. Urge the authorities to clarify this and other cases of “disappearance”and to take steps to bring those responsible to justice.

Send letters to:

President of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia Federal Minister of Internal Affairs Slobodan Miloševi Zoran Sokolovi Predsednik SRJ Ministar za unutrašnje poslove Bulevar Mihaila Pupina 2 Savezno ministarstvo za unutrašnje poslove 11070 Beograd, Yugoslavia 11000 Beograd, Yugoslavia Salutation: Dear President Salutation: Dear Minister Fax: + 381 11 636 775 Fax: +381 11 361 7730 email: [email protected] E-mail: [email protected]

Prime Minister Federal Minister of Justice Predsednik Savezne Vlade Petar Joji Dr Momir Bulatovi Ministar za pravosudje Bulevar Mihaila Pupina 2 Savezno ministarstvo za pravosudje 11070 Beograd, Yugoslavia Bulevar Mihaila Pupina 2 Salutation: Dear Prime Minister 11070 Beograd, Yugoslavia Fax: + 381 11 636 775 Salutation: Dear Minister email: [email protected] Fax: +381 11 636 775 E-mail: petar.joji@gov.yu Federal Minister of Foreign Affairs Ministar za inostrane poslove ivadin Jovanovi Savezno ministarstvo za inostrane poslove Kneza Miloša 24-26 11000 Beograd, Yugoslavia Salutation: Dear Minister Fax: +381 11 367 2954 email: [email protected]

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A Broken Circle: “Disappeared” and abducted in Kosovo province: Case Sheets 9 ______

Artan Efendia (23), Albion Kumnova(22) [cousin], Gëzim Deva [mother’s cousin] (29), Lutfi Bunjaku (47), Bekim Bunjaku (16), Shkëlzen Binishi (33)

The Efendia family are ethnic Albanians from Djakovica (Gjakovë). According to Ferdez Efendia, the mother of Artan Efendia, after the NATO bombing on 24 March began Serbian forces stepped up their activities, looting and burning houses. The family thus decided to take shelter with her sister, who lived nearby in the southwestern part of Djakovica, where they felt more secure.

Artan’s father advised him to leave the city, believing that it was unsafe for a young man to remain. Artan however thought it unwise to do so, fearing that he might be picked up and arrested in the street, and continued to stay at his aunt’s house. According to Ferdez Efendija, he was in the house along with various friends and relations, including two of his male relatives, Albion Kumnova and Gëzim Deva, as well as three men from a family of neighbours, when, on 31 March, at around 2:30 pm, the police arrived.

At least one of the police officers was armed with an automatic weapon. Three of them entered the house, and forced the six men outside where another 10 police officers were present. Ferdez Efendia followed them outside, and reported that the six men were made to lie prone on the ground. According to Ferdez Efendia, she was twice ordered to re-enter the house, and threatened with being killed if she did not obey. However, she refused and was asked whether any of the men was a member of her family. Fearing that her son might be killed if she admitted their relationship, she said no, and was pushed back into the house at gunpoint by one of the policemen. She does not know what subsequently happened to her son and the other five men, and states that Artan Efendia had no connections with the Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA).

On several occasions the family made inquiries both at the local police station and to the civil authorities but were given no information whatsoever. The name of a Bekim Bunjaku appears on a prisoner list made available by the Serbian Ministry of Justice as being

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held in the Vranje prison in southern Serbia, but the family were unable to establish whether this is the same Bekim Bunjaku who was taken on this occasion. Artan Efendia, Albion Kumnova, Gëzim Deva, Lutfi Bunjaku, Bekim Bunjaku, Shkëlzen Binishi

Please write or send a fax to the Yugoslav authorities, saying that you have read about the "disappearance" of Artan Efendia, Albion Kumnova, Gëzim Deva, Lutfi Bunjaku, Bekim Bunjaku and Shkëlzen Binishi, and that you are concerned about them and other persons of all nationalities from Kosovo province who have “disappeared” or been abducted. Urge the authorities to clarify this and other cases of “disappearance”and to take steps to bring those responsible to justice.

Send letters to:

President of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia Slobodan Miloševi Predsednik SRJ Federal Minister of Internal Affairs Bulevar Mihaila Pupina 2 Zoran Sokolovi 11070 Beograd, Yugoslavia Ministar za unutrašnje poslove Salutation: Dear President Savezno ministarstvo za unutrašnje poslove Fax: + 381 11 636 775 11000 Beograd, Yugoslavia email: [email protected] Salutation: Dear Minister Fax: +381 11 361 7730 Prime Minister E-mail: [email protected] Predsednik Savezne Vlade Dr Momir Bulatovi Federal Minister of Justice Bulevar Mihaila Pupina 2 Petar Joji 11070 Beograd, Yugoslavia Ministar za pravosudje Salutation: Dear Prime Minister Savezno ministarstvo za pravosudje Fax: + 381 11 636 775 Bulevar Mihaila Pupina 2 email: [email protected] 11070 Beograd, Yugoslavia Salutation: Dear Minister Federal Minister of Foreign Affairs Fax: +381 11 636 775 Ministar za inostrane poslove E-mail: [email protected] ivadin Jovanovi Savezno ministarstvo za inostrane poslove Kneza Miloša 24-26 11000 Beograd, Yugoslavia Salutation: Dear Minister Fax: +381 11 367 2954 email: [email protected]

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A Broken Circle: “Disappeared” and abducted in Kosovo province: Case Sheets 11 ______

Halim Qerkezi (53), Artan Qerkezi (25), Armend Qerkezi (24) (sons of Halim Qerkezi), Ardian Qerkezi (19), Edmond Qerkezi (14), Vegim Qerkezi (19) (nephew of Halim), Shpejtim Ymeraga (32) (cousin of Halim), Skënder Dylhasi (59), Myrteza Dylhasi (26), Fatos Jetishi (21), Shpend Jetishi (20).

The Qerkezi family are Albanian-speaking members of Kosovo’s small Circassian minority, living in Djakovica (Gjakovë).

At around mid-day on 27 April (other public sources give 28 April as the date, but family members informed Amnesty delegates that the earlier date was correct) members of the Qerkez family, together with a number of more distant relatives and neighbours totalling 18 or 19 people, were visited at their home by two police officers, who ordered them to leave the house and go into the garden, despite the poor weather. After a period they were permitted to re-enter the house, while the police remained at the door. At about 3 pm a further two police officers arrived, ordering them out into the garden again and demanding their identity documents, which they said they were taking to the local police station. When they returned they were accompanied by a further two police officers. According to his daughter-in-law Arta

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Qerkezi, the wife of Artan Qerkezi, Halim Qerkezi recognized one of the police officers as a local. These police officers told the family that they need not worry about their safety, as they had no connections with the KLA, although they added that if they had been connected with the Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA) they would have been killed.

The family and their guests were then ordered to go down into the basement “to avoid the NATO bombs”. The four police officers descended with them, but although they demanded that the family provide them with coffee and alcohol to drink, reportedly behaved correctly, remaining in one of the two basement rooms while the Qerkez family and their guests occupied another. Halim Qerkezi went to talk to them, and returned to his family telling them not to worry.

At around 7:30 that evening the police left, taking the son of one of the neighbours with them. Immediately afterwards four other men, who Arta Qerkezi believes also to have been police officers arrived. These men were masked, and ordered the eleven men present to go out, while the women and children remained in the basement. According to a neighbour who later spoke to Arta Qerkezi, the men had been loaded onto an unmarked lorry and driven away. They then ordered the women to hand over their money and valuables, and told them to leave the house within 10 minutes.

The women decided to go to a sister’s house for safety. When they left the building, one of the police officers who had been stationed outside told them to go back in, but they were afraid to do so, fearing that the building might be set alight with them inside. Eventually they took shelter in a neighbouring house, where they stayed the night. The following morning they discovered that their house had been looted and vandalised, and that the family car had been stolen.

The family remained in Djakovica and made intensive but fruitless efforts to discover the fate of their relatives until KFOR troops entered it on 13 June. They visited the local police station several times to report the men’s “disappearance” and ask for information, although they reported meeting little sympathy or assistance. On various occasions they were told that information was impossible to obtain because telephone lines were not functioning, that the men had been sent to Albania, and that they should apply to NATO for information.

The family undertook other initiatives to attempt to trace their relatives, none of which enabled them to obtain information. The policeman whom Halim Qerkezi had earlier recognized was later seen driving the family’s car, and Halim’s brother followed him to his apartment, where he asked for help in finding the missing men. Although this man offered to give back the keys to the car and the family house, he denied any knowledge of or responsibility for the men’s “disappearance”. On a further visit, he promised to give them an

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answer in two days’ time. However, in the meantime Serbian forces had launched a major operation on 7 May in the Rruga e Qabratit area, apparently aimed at flushing out members of the KLA, but which reportedly led to an increased number of “disappearances”. The indications are that a considerable number of civilians were killed or “disappeared” during this operation. Halim’s brother was unable to re-establish contact with the police officer following these events.

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A Broken Circle: “Disappeared” and abducted in Kosovo province: Case Sheets 14 ______

Halim Qerkezi, Artan Qerkezi, Armend Qerkezi, Ardian Qerkezi, Edmond Qerkezi, Vegim Qerkezi, Shpejtim Ymeraga, Skënder Dylhasi, Myrteza Dylhasi, Fatos Jetishi, Shpend Jetishi

Please write or send a fax to the Yugoslav authorities, saying that you have read about the "disappearance" of Halim Qerkezi, Artan Qerkezi, Armend Qerkezi, Ardian Qerkezi, Edmond Qerkezi, Vegim Qerkezi, Shpejtim Ymeraga, Skënder Dylhasi, Myrteza Dylhasi, Fatos Jetishi and Shpend Jetishi, and that you are concerned about them and other persons of all nationalities from Kosovo province who have “disappeared” or been abducted. Urge the authorities to clarify this and other cases of “disappearance”and to take steps to bring those responsible to justice.

Send letters to:

President of the Federal Republic of email: [email protected] Yugoslavia Slobodan Miloševi Federal Minister of Internal Affairs Predsednik SRJ Zoran Sokolovi Bulevar Mihaila Pupina 2 Ministar za unutrašnje poslove 11070 Beograd, Yugoslavia Savezno ministarstvo za unutrašnje poslove Salutation: Dear President 11000 Beograd, Yugoslavia Fax: + 381 11 636 775 Salutation: Dear Minister email: [email protected] Fax: +381 11 361 7730 E-mail: [email protected] Prime Minister Predsednik Savezne Vlade Federal Minister of Justice Dr Momir Bulatovi Petar Joji Bulevar Mihaila Pupina 2 Ministar za pravosudje 11070 Beograd, Yugoslavia Savezno ministarstvo za pravosudje Salutation: Dear Prime Minister Bulevar Mihaila Pupina 2 Fax: + 381 11 636 775 11070 Beograd, Yugoslavia email: [email protected] Salutation: Dear Minister Fax: +381 11 636 775 Federal Minister of Foreign Affairs E-mail: [email protected] Ministar za inostrane poslove ivadin Jovanovi Savezno ministarstvo za inostrane poslove Kneza Miloša 24-26 11000 Beograd, Yugoslavia Salutation: Dear Minister Fax: +381 11 367 2954

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A Broken Circle: “Disappeared” and abducted in Kosovo province: Case Sheets 15 ______

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A Broken Circle: “Disappeared” and abducted in Kosovo province: Case Sheets 16 ______

Gradimir Stoli (32)

Gradimir Stoli, an ethnic Serb who is married with two children, lived in Gnjilane (Gjilanë), where he worked as a waiter in the café Bour. He had stayed in his home during the conflict period and had remained on good terms with the other workers at the café who were ethnic Albanians (his own grandmother was an ethnic Albanian), and he reportedly helped shelter some of them during this time. After Serb troops withdrew from the province he became concerned for the safety of his family and took his wife and children to stay with his father, who lives in the town of Obrenovac near Belgrade. He, however, returned to Gnjilane a number of times in order to fetch things from his house, carry out other business, and visit his and his wife’s mothers, who had stayed in the town.

On 23 August he arrived in Gnjilane for his fourth visit since leaving with his family in June. That day he visited his mother-in-law and returned to his mother’s house to stay the evening. The following day he visited his mother-in-law again. She says that this was the last time she saw him.

On 25 August, at around 6 pm, Gradimir Stoli left his mother’s house to buy cigarettes in the centre of town. He was planning to return to Serbia very shortly with parcels for his children. He has not been seen by any member of his family since. Although his mother and mother-in-law have been told that he was seen getting into a car, they are not certain that these reports are reliable.

Some of Mr Stoli’s ethnic Albanian workmates have reportedly told his mother that he was being held in an improvised jail run by the Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA) in the nearby village of Uglare. A number of Serbs and Roma abducted and later released by armed ethnic Albanians representing themselves as KLA members, have reported being held for a period in rooms or buildings. His family have reported Gradimir Stoli’s abduction to KFOR and the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), but neither organization has been able to provide any information concerning his fate.

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Gnjilane is one of the few towns in southern Kosovo where ethnic Serbs remain in significant numbers, and where Albanians live in relatively close proximity. Since the withdrawal of Serb forces a considerable number of Serbs from the town have been reported abducted by ethnic Albanian individuals or groups.

Gradimir Stoli

Please write or send a fax to representatives of the Kosovar Albanians saying that you have read about the case of Gradimir Stoli, who has been abducted. In your letter urge them to use whatever influence they have in ethnic Albanian society to stop human rights abuses being perpetrated against persons of all ethnicities (including Roma, Serbs and ethnic Albanians who are perceived as being “disloyal” to the KLA). Urge them to assist the civilian police and UNMIK, by providing what information is at their disposal regarding those who have been abducted, and to assist in clarifying this and other cases as well as ensuring that those responsible are brought to justice. Please emphasize that you are concerned about members of all national and ethnic groups who have been abducted or have “disappeared” in Kosovo.

Send letters to:

Amnesty International November 1999 AI Index: EUR 70/124/99