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| Petraq Milo while being violated by the Montenegrin police |
Two policemen in Montenegro have been arrested for the ill-treatment of an Albanian citizen at the border point in Sukobina, which connects Montenegro and Albania, the Montenegrin Police confirmed on February 22.
The arrest of the police officers was made on the basis of an order issued by the Prosecutor's Office in Ulcin, where it was said that they had forcibly grabbed the face of the Albanian citizen, Petraq Milo.
"They are suspected of the criminal offense of ill-treatment, which means excessive use of force," the Montenegrin Police said.
According to some videos published by Montenegrin media on January 21, Montenegrin police officers are seen forcibly removing Milon from the car, who does not resist and is mistreated.
These recordings are believed to date from January 15, and according to the Albanian party in Montenegro, the Albanian Alternative, appear the Albanian citizen, Petraq Milo, being mistreated by police officials.
Milo, university professor and former adviser to the Prime Minister of Albania on public finance and monetary policy, was contacted by Radio Free Europe, but did not want to comment on the case. He briefly said that "he is following [the case] in the institutional way".
On February 22, the Prime Minister with technical mandate of Montenegro, Dritan Abazović, said that "measures have been taken" for this case.
But, he added that "there is another side of the coin", since, as he said, the video does not show that the actions of the police were preceded by a traffic offence.
"It's not like someone targeted someone and just pulled them out of the car. Someone must have committed an offence. Traffic rules and queues have not been respected", said Abazović.
Abazović said that the distribution of the videos at this time is related to the presidential elections in Montenegro, which are expected to be held next month.
"Until we get closer to March 19, expect a lot more videos, graffiti, nationalism, tensions, a bad atmosphere in relation to Bosniaks, Albanians, minorities," Abazović said.
This incident has provoked reactions in Montenegro, especially from the Albanian parties.