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He was raped by the Serbian secret service after he apologized at the grave of Adem Jashari, Sandulović's family members: He is paralyzed

2024-01-11 09:57:40Kosova&Bota SHKRUAR NGA REDAKSIA VOX

He was raped by the Serbian secret service after he apologized at the grave of

The family of a Serbian opposition leader who was allegedly beaten while in custody by the country's secret service says he has been left partially paralyzed by the attack.

The attack has fueled fears for the future of democracy in the country Nikola Sandulović's family says was taken from his home on January 3 after apologizing for crimes committed by Serbs against ethnic Albanians during Kosovo's 1988 war for independence. and 1989.

On Wednesday, after the first family visit allowed for five days, Sandulovic's daughter, Karla, called for her father to be moved to a civilian hospital rather than the military facility in Belgrade where he is being held.
“He communicates, but is completely paralyzed on the right side; in a wheelchair and in very poor health," she said in a statement released through her father's lawyer, Michael Polak. The family believes that Sandulović, the leader of the Serbian Republican party and a regular critic of the Serbian Progressive Party (SNS), may have been "poisoned".

Lawyers have said they cannot verify anything about Sandulović's health or the attack until he is taken to a civilian facility. The lawyer said that Sandulovic was "captured by the Serbian intelligence service and then arbitrarily arrested and tortured."

Sandulović was heavily criticized in state media after he reposted a video from last year in which he visited the grave of Adem Jashari, the founder of the Kosovo Liberation Army, who was killed by Serbian police in 1998 along with 57 members of his family. during the war in Kosovo. At the time he made the visit, in February 2023, Sandulović apologized for the deaths. He reposted the video along with another apology in the past two weeks, drawing criticism from some local media.

"I am the only politician from Serbia who came to honor the innocent Albanian victims, the Jashari family, in Prekaz. I apologized on behalf of the Serbs for not doing so," Sandulović wrote in X on January 2.

His comments are believed to be the reason for the attack. "He was badly beaten, as he had a broken rib. When he returned home, he complained that he could not move the right side of his body," said Polak. Despite this, Sandulović was arrested a day after he returned to his home by Serbian police and was not seen by his family until Wednesday morning.

A judge ordered that he be held in custody for 30 days after he was charged, in absentia, with 'inciting national, racial and religious hatred', an offense under Article 317 of the criminal code of conduct that carries a prison sentence of six months to five years. Polak says the charge is a clear violation of the European convention on human rights that protects political speech. The attack will raise new questions about Serbia's stated intention to join the EU and will raise fears about its relations with neighboring countries, including Kosovo. It comes amid accusations that the recent elections were rigged in favor of President Aleksandar Vucic's SNS, an accusation that the latter denies.

Polak asked the international community to condemn the attack on his client. "I think it is a very important case for all Serbs, regardless of whether they agree with Sandulovic's gesture or not," he said. In a statement on Wednesday, the European Commission said it was "in contact with the relevant authorities and interested parties". Any detention had to be legally justified and "any credible allegation of violence must be effectively pursued by the relevant competent authorities," he added.


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