31. 03. 2005

RTK CREW TAKEN INTO CUSTODY

VUCITRN, March 31, 2005 – Three members of the Radio Television Kosovo crew detained in the police station in Vucitrn, were released on Thursday early morning. Journalist Bedzet Begu, cameraman Bard Bektesi and driver Mehdi Havolji have been brought in due to wrong parking. “Police officers in Vucitrn had beaten us and arrested us”, said the RTK crew members. The lawyer Tom Gasi filed a complaint, saying that his client Bedzet Begu was beaten and arrested. “Three members of the RTK crew were arrested due to illegal parking of the station’s van. Kosovo Police Service rated the incidence as an attack on the police. On the other hand, Begu, whom I visited in the detention, told me that the police officers had beaten him up and treated him incorrectly”, said Gasi. Spokesperson of the KPS Refki Morina said that the RTK crew failed to comply with the request to move their vehicle thus obstructing the work of officers on duty. RTK reported that the incident was recorded on tape, but that the police had confiscated the camera and the tape. One of the witnesses however said that the television crew did not disobey police’s orders.