A Bulgarian court released former Kosovo prime minister Agim Ceku on Thursday, ending a brief detention that had flared into a diplomatic dispute between Belgrade and Pristina.
Ceku was arrested Tuesday night at the Gyueshevo border crossing near Kyustendil while entering from Macedonia, on an Interpol warrant sought by Serbia for alleged war crimes during the 1998-1999 Kosovo conflict. Released after 72 hours, he was ordered to remain in Bulgaria pending a possible prosecution appeal; prosecutors indicated they would not file one.
Serbia's Justice Ministry dismissed the ruling as politically motivated. Official Slobodan Homen said "politics overcome international law" and vowed Ceku would eventually answer to Serbian courts. Amnesty International separately urged Bulgaria to extradite him promptly.
At the hearing, Ceku's lawyers submitted a letter from Kosovo Prime Minister Hashim Thaci confirming his diplomatic status, alongside a UN statement placing him under UNMIK jurisdiction. Ceku told the court the Hague tribunal had investigated crimes in the region and found no charges to bring against him.
It was not his first detention under a Serbian warrant: he had previously been held in Colombia, Slovenia in 2003, and Hungary in 2004. Kosovo declared independence in February 2008 and is recognized by about 60 countries; Serbia and Russia continue to reject that status.
Historical summary. TurkishPress restated this wire report, first published in June 2009, in its own words.