Young Kosovo Man Dies in Serbian Jail, Family Accuses Guardians of Violence

Nagip Zyberi, the uncle of the young man, Artan Zuberi, 28 years old, who lost his life in the prison of "Sremska Mitrovica" in Serbia, has spoken about the moment of his nephew's arrest as well as the family's suspicions about his death.

He told Kosovar media that Artani was arrested at the Kosovo-Serbia border in Bërnjak after he was traveling to Norway where he had been living with his family for years. According to the uncle of the deceased, the reason for the arrest were his body tattoos with the national flag and a photo with a Kalashnikov gun in the vehicle where he was traveling. 

"Artan's arrest happened one year and two months ago, approximately. His family members found out about his arrest after a week. After they found out that he was arrested by the Serbian police and is in prison because of the vehicle, where he had a picture of a Kalashnikov weapon, the family members immediately went and hired a lawyer from Norway. His social educator since childhood intervened through the embassy to transfer him here. The parents had gone to Belgrade, when he had already been sentenced as an Albanian terrorist for three years," he said. 

Nagip Zuberi adds that Artan died in this prison after the torture that was done to him while serving his sentence, as well as after the fire that engulfed the prison on November 21, 2022. He said that when the fire broke out in this prison, eight hours the doors of pavilions have been closed. According to him, this was done so that he would die from smoke and fire. 

"On November 21, the prison burned down in ward number 2. We have reported the case to Norway, as Artan is a Norwegian citizen, he was born there. Artani has tattoos all over his body. Artani came from Serbia to Kosovo. On his return, he was caught by the Serbian police at the Kosovo-Serbia border. Artani passed away on November 21. He loved his country. He drew the flag according to his wish. Like the young guys who get tattoos. In my opinion, there is great abuse behind. The last one was when they burned down the prison, burned down ward number two for eight hours. There are also other prisoners there, not only Artani. Through the newspapers, the Serbs gave the news that four guards were injured, and they didn't report that they died," his uncle declared.