Reps. Espaillat, Allred, Zeldin Urge President Biden to Bring Justice to Kosovo War Crimes Victims.WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, Representatives Adriano Espaillat (NY-13), Colin Allred (TX-32) and Lee Zeldin (NY-1) sent a letter urging President Biden to seek justice from Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić and request a full investigation into the deaths of the New York residents who were murdered during the Kosovo War.
“We urge you to fulfill your pledge to seek answers from President Vucic and request a full investigation of this case, including of all those within the chain of command,” wrote the members. “Although resolving this case will never be able to return all that has been taken from them—the lives of their beloved brothers—it will provide them with some semblance of justice.”
The Members further urged President Biden “as a global leader to pursue humanitarian justice and advocate for the lives of these American citizens who were the victims of international crimes.”
“The Bytyqi brothers were victims of state sponsored murder – full stop. And it is long past time they are given their due justice. If the United States is to remain a leader on the global stage, we must lead with our values – and that is why we are calling on President Biden to do everything in his power to ensure that this investigation is not impeded and true justice for the Bytyqi family can finally be delivered,” said Rep. Espaillat (NY-13).
“Despite many promises of Serbian officials to solve the case of the state sponsored murders of the Bytyqi brothers, justice has never been served. President Biden must take immediate action to ensure that progress with this investigation remains a significant factor in determining the further development of U.S.-Serbian relations. Justice for the Bytyqi family is long overdue,” said Rep. Zeldin (NY-01).
“The United States has an obligation to lead with our values on the world stage and make clear that we will not tolerate human rights abuses and we will demand accountability. No one should experience the horrible human rights abuses and personal violence that Ms. Vasfije Krasniqi-Goodman experienced as a teenager during the Kosovo War, including being kidnapped, tortured and raped. I thank Ms. Krasniqi-Goodman, now a resident of Rowlett, Texas, for her advocacy and my colleagues from both sides of the aisle for joining me in sending this message,” said Rep. Allred (TX-32).
The letter follows a meeting between the Members of Congress and Illir Bytyqi, a Kosovo War sex crimes survivor and human rights activist, whose three brothers were killed by Serbian forces during the war that lasted 15 months from March 5, 1998, through June 11, 1999. Twenty-one year-old Mehmet, 23-year-old Agron, and 25-year-old Ylli Bytyqi were residents of New York who fought for the independence of their ancestral homeland. In 2001, the three brothers’ bodies were found in a mass grave in eastern Serbia with bound hands and gunshot wounds to the heads.
In addition to Reps. Espaillat, Allred, and Zeldin, the letter was cosigned by Representatives James P. McGovern (MA-02), Ritchie Torres (NY-15), Dina Titus (NV-01), Carolyn B. Maloney (NY-12), Marc Veasey (TX-33), Juan Vargas (CA-51), Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (NY-14), and Mondaire Jones (NY-17).
Read the letter to President Biden in its entirety here.
Representative Espaillat is the first Dominican American to serve in the U.S. House of Representatives and his congressional district includes Harlem, East Harlem, West Harlem, Hamilton Heights, Washington Heights, Inwood, Marble Hill and the north-west Bronx. First elected to Congress in 2016, Representative Espaillat is serving his third term in Congress. Representative Espaillat currently serves as a member of the influential U.S. House Committee on Appropriations responsible for funding the federal government’s vital activities. He is also a member of the House Committee on Education and Labor and the Congressional Hispanic Caucus (CHC), where he serves in a leadership role as the Second Vice Chair and is a member of the Congressional Progressive Caucus, where he serves as Deputy Whip. Representative Espaillat also currently serves as a Senior Whip of the Democratic Caucus. To find out more about Rep. Espaillat, visit online at https://espaillat.house.gov/.
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