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Ex-Kosovo PM arrested by Bulgaria on Serbian warrant

Other News Materials 24 June 2009 06:34 (UTC +04:00)

Former Kosovo Prime Minister Agim Ceku was arrested by Bulgarian authorities on Tuesday on an old Interpol arrest warrant issued by Serbia, a party spokesperson told Reuters.

"He was arrested at the Macedonian-Bulgarian border. We expect to be released soon but we don't know if that will happen tonight or tomorrow," Gezim Kasapolli a spokesperson from Ceku's party said.

Serbia indicted Ceku, a former top commander of Kosovo Albanian fighters during the 1998-1999 war, and some other Kosovo leaders, including current Prime Minister Hashim Thaci, on suspicion of committing crimes against Serbs.

The Kosovo government has asked Interpol and other countries to ignore Serbia's request.

Last month Ceku had left Colombia following an expulsion order from the local security agency after Serbia authorities asked their Colombian counterparts to arrest him.

This is the fourth time Ceku has been stopped, but the authorities in Slovenia and Hungary on those occasions have never handed him over to Belgrade authorities.

Kosovo's Albanian majority backed by the Western countries declared independence in 2008 and was recognized by 60 countries including Bulgaria. But Serbia has said it will never recognize an independent Kosovo.

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