UNITED NATIONS, June 10 (Xinhua) -- The United Nations is looking into the circumstances around the arrests and alleged abuse of two staff members of the UN Interim Administration Mission in Kosovo (UNMIK), the world body's legal counsel said Monday.
"The results of a thorough internal UN investigation will help establish a better understanding of the relevant facts, that will aid the organization in considering the next steps," said Miguel de Serpa Soares, UN undersecretary-general for legal affairs and UN legal counsel.
The fullest measure of cooperation by the Kosovo authorities will continue to be required to facilitate the UN investigation, so as to allow the secretary-general to determine the next steps under the legal framework, he told the Security Council in a briefing.
The top UN envoy in Kosovo, Zahir Tanin, said the arrests of two UNMIK staff members in a police operation in northern Kosovo on May 28 violated their immunities.
"Relevant immunities of our staff members from arrest and detention have failed to be observed. United Nations property was also improperly seized and searched, in contravention of all relevant laws and the organization's immunities," said Tanin, who spoke at the Security Council briefing ahead of Serpa Soares.
Despite UNMIK's requests, the authorities in Pristina have shared very little relevant or factual evidence with the United Nations about the arrests and injury of the two staff members: Mikhail Krasnoshchekov, a Russian national, and Dejan Dimovic, a Kosovo Serb, said Tanin, who heads UNMIK.
Statements issued by Kosovo authorities lack an adequate evidentiary basis, contrary to much of UNMIK's understanding so far, and avoid matters essential for an objective inquiry, he said.
Tanin said he was alarmed that both staff members were apparently subjected to excessive force and mistreatment upon their arrest by police, causing injuries requiring hospitalization.
Concerning the Kosovo authorities' declaration of Krasnoshchekov as "persona non grata," both Serpa Soares and Tanin noted that the doctrine is not applicable to UN personnel.
The two UNMIK staff members, who were later released from police custody, are still facing the possibility of criminal legal processes in Kosovo, said the UN legal counsel.
