A Kosovar police deputy who was detained at the border by Serbian police has been released and was on his way back to Kosovo, the Kosovar Foreign Ministry announced late on April 18.
Police Deputy Director Dejan Jankovic was detained on April 17 at the Jarinje border crossing and accused of undermining Serbia's constitutional order, according to Kosovar Interior Minister Xhelal Svecla.
The Foreign Ministry issued in a statement on Facebook quoting Kosovar Ambassador to Serbia Jetish Jashari as confirming that Jankovic had been released.
Prime Minister Albin Kurti said earlier on April 18 at a government meeting in Pristina that four other police officers who were detained together with Jankovic had been released.
Ten off-duty Kosovar police officers, both ethnic Albanians and Serbs, were detained by Serbian authorities while returning to Kosovo. Five of them were released the same day.
Serbia's Interior Ministry confirmed to Serbian news agency Tanjug that the officers were detained on April 17 during border checks but did not say why Jankovic was kept and reportedly sent for interrogation.
The U.S. State Department in an e-mail to RFE/RL said it urged all parties involved to avoid any actions that could jeopardize regional security and stability.
The spokesperson also warned that arbitrary or unduly lengthy detentions, especially if they target Kosovo police officers, "will be seen as escalatory actions detrimental to peace and stability."
The detentions came after at least six buses from Kosovo were earlier stopped for hours by Serbian police at a border crossing with Croatia and Hungary, according to passengers, before being allowed to continue.
Serbia said the delays were caused by additional security measures at the border, but that Kosovar citizens' movement has not been restricted.
The tightening of border controls by Serbia came shortly after the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) recommended on April 16 that Kosovo be invited to become a member of the Council of Europe, a European human rights body.
Kurti was quick to link the Kosovar police officers' detentions with the decision by PACE.
"The mass arrests, detentions, and ill-treatment of [Kosovar] travelers occurred immediately after the favorable vote in the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe," Kurti told the government meeting.
Kosovar President Vjosa Osmani said the stopping of buses was a retaliatory measure by Belgrade, and directly accused Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic of ordering the move.
"Serbia is retaliating against Kosovar citizens, one day after PACE's CoE vote, by holding many hostage at border crossings, intimidating, confiscating docs & depriving them of food," Osmani wrote on X, formerly Twitter, adding, "One man is responsible for this: Vucic."
Kosovo's Foreign Ministry also said in a statement that Serbia had stopped the buses as a "a sign of retaliation against the PACE's support for Kosovo's membership in the organization."
Kosovo, a mainly ethnic Albanian former province of Serbia, declared independence from Belgrade in 2008 after fighting a guerrilla war in 1998-99 that ended with NATO's bombing of Serbia. Kosovo's independence has been recognized neither by Belgrade nor by its traditional ally, Russia, or China.