Marking the 19th anniversary of the disappearance of two Serbian radio journalists in Kosovo, a journalists’ association has demanded a fresh investigation into their deaths – and those of other journalists abducted and killed in Kosovo.
On the 19th anniversary of the abduction of two Serbian journalists from Radio Pristina during the war in Kosovo, a Serbian media union, the UNS, has appealed to the EU rule of law body in Kosovo, EULEX, to the UN authority, UNMIK, to the War Crimes Prosecutor’s Office in Serbia and to the War Crimes Tribunal in Kosovo, to investigate these and other killings and kidnappings of journalists and media workers in Kosovo.
“UNS and [its Kosovo branch] DNK urge these institutions through a public campaign and through a witness protection program to encourage individuals to talk about crimes against journalists,” a press release from UNS said.
Two Serbian journalists from the radio station, Djuro Slavuj and Ranko Perenic, were abducted during the conflict in 1998 on the road between the towns of Orahovac and Zociste in western Kosovo. They were never seen again.
Slavuj and Perenic were abducted when they went to report on the return of Serbian Orthodox monks to the nearby Zociste monastery. According to UNS, they were in an area controlled by Kosovo independence fighters. Their bodies and their car were never found.
A memorial dedicated to two journalists was erected in August 2014, on the 16th anniversary of their abduction, written in both Serbian and Albanian, reading: “Here on August 21, 1998, two journalists, Djuro Slavuj and Ranko Perenic, went missing. We are looking for them. UNS.”
Since then, according to UNS, the memorial has been attacked five times, and those responsible have not been found.
