UN police arrest Kosovo Albanian suspected of murder, torture and illegal detention

United Nations police have arrested a Kosovo Albanian for the alleged torture and murder of at least five illegally detained persons.

Rustem Mustafa, whose arrest was requested by an international prosecutor and carried out by police from the UN Interim Administration Mission in Kosovo (UNMIK) with the assistance of the NATO-led multinational force, is scheduled to appear before an international judge within the next 72 hours, the Mission said in a statement yesterday.

"As with any judicial investigation, the court will rule on whether the suspect will be kept in custody while the judicial investigation is conducted," UNMIK said. "The prosecutor in the case has requested that the suspect be detained pending the conclusion of the investigation" which could last several months.