H.Con.Res. 41

[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Con. Res. 41 Introduced in House (IH)]

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119th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. CON. RES. 41

Expressing the sense of Congress regarding the execution-style murders 
of United States citizens Ylli, Agron, and Mehmet Bytyqi in the 
Republic of Serbia in July 1999.

_______________________________________________________________________

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

July 10, 2025

Mr. LaLota (for himself, Mr. Garbarino, Mr. Suozzi, Ms. Malliotakis, 
Mr. Lawler, Ms. Ocasio-Cortez, Mr. Torres of New York, Mr. Latimer, Mr. 
Morelle, Ms. Omar, and Mr. McGovern) submitted the following concurrent 
resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign Affairs

_______________________________________________________________________

CONCURRENT RESOLUTION

Expressing the sense of Congress regarding the execution-style murders 
of United States citizens Ylli, Agron, and Mehmet Bytyqi in the 
Republic of Serbia in July 1999.

Whereas brothers Ylli, Agron, and Mehmet Bytyqi were citizens of the United 
States, born in Chicago, Illinois, to ethnic Albanian parents from what 
is today the Republic of Kosovo, and who subsequently lived in Hampton 
Bays, New York;
Whereas the three Bytyqi brothers responded to the brutality of the conflict 
associated with Kosovo's separation from the Republic of Serbia and the 
Federal Republic of Yugoslavia of which Serbia was a constituent 
republic by joining the so-called ``Atlantic Brigade'' of the Kosovo 
Liberation Army in April 1999;
Whereas a Military-Technical Agreement between the Government of Yugoslavia and 
the North Atlantic Council came into effect on June 10, 1999, leading to 
a cessation of hostilities;
Whereas the Bytyqi brothers were arrested on June 23, 1999, by Serbian police 
within the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia when the brothers accidently 
crossed what was then an unmarked administrative border while escorting 
an ethnic Romani family who had been neighbors to safety outside Kosovo;
Whereas the Bytyqi brothers were jailed for 15 days for illegal entry into the 
Federal Republic of Yugoslavia in Prokuplje, Serbia, until a judge 
ordered their release on July 8, 1999;
Whereas, instead of being released, the Bytyqi brothers were taken by a special 
operations unit of the Serbian Ministry of Internal Affairs to a 
training facility near Petrovo Selo, Serbia, where all three were 
executed;
Whereas, at the time of their murders, Ylli was 25, Agron was 23, and Mehmet was 
21 years of age;
Whereas Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic was removed from office on October 
5, 2000, following massive demonstrations protesting his refusal to 
acknowledge and accept election results the month before;
Whereas, in the following years, the political leadership of Serbia has worked 
to strengthen democratic institutions, to develop stronger adherence to 
the rule of law, and to ensure respect for human rights and fundamental 
freedoms, including as the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia evolved into a 
State Union of Serbia and Montenegro in February 2003, which itself 
dissolved when both republics proclaimed their respective independence 
in June 2006;
Whereas the United States Embassy in Belgrade, Serbia, was informed on July 17, 
2001, that the bodies of Ylli, Agron, and Mehmet Bytyqi were found with 
their hands bound and gunshot wounds to the back of their heads, buried 
atop an earlier mass grave of approximately 70 bodies of murdered 
civilians from Kosovo;
Whereas Serbian authorities subsequently investigated but never charged those 
individuals who were part of the Ministry of Internal Affairs chain of 
command related to this crime, including former Minister of Internal 
Affairs Vlajko Stojilkovic, Assistant Minister and Chief of the Public 
Security Department Vlastimir Djordjevic, and special operations 
training camp commander Goran ``Guri'' Radosavljevic;
Whereas Vlajko Stojilkovic died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound in April 2002 
prior to being transferred to the custody of the International Criminal 
Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia where he had been charged with crimes 
against humanity and violations of the laws or customs of war during the 
Kosovo conflict;
Whereas Vlastimir Djordjevic was arrested and transferred to the custody of the 
International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia in June 2007, 
and sentenced in February 2011 to 27 years imprisonment (later reduced 
to 18 years) for crimes against humanity and violations of the laws or 
customs of war committed during the Kosovo conflict;
Whereas Goran ``Guri'' Radosavljevic is reported to reside in Serbia, working as 
director of a security consulting firm in Belgrade, and is a prominent 
member of the governing political party;
Whereas the Secretary of State designated Goran Radosavljevic of Serbia under 
section 7031(c) of the Department of State, Foreign Operations, and 
Related Programs Appropriations Act, 2018 as ineligible for entry into 
the United States due to his involvement in gross violations of human 
rights;
Whereas two Serbian Ministry of Internal Affairs officers, Sretan Popovic and 
Milos Stojanovic, were charged in 2006 for crimes associated with their 
involvement in the detention and transport of the Bytyqi brothers from 
Prokuplje to Petrovo Selo, but acquitted in May 2012 with an appeals 
court confirming the verdict in March 2013;
Whereas the Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic promised several high ranking 
United States officials to deliver justice in the cases of the deaths of 
Ylli, Agron, and Mehmet Bytyqi;
Whereas no individual has ever been found guilty for the murders of Ylli, Agron, 
and Mehmet Bytyqi or of any other crimes associated with their deaths; 
and
Whereas no individual is currently facing criminal charges regarding the murder 
of the Bytyqi brothers despite many promises by Serbian officials to 
resolve the case: Now, therefore, be it
Resolved by the House of Representatives (the Senate concurring), 
That it is the sense of Congress that--
(1) those individuals responsible for the murders in July 
1999 of United States citizens Ylli, Agron, and Mehmet Bytyqi 
in Serbia should be brought to justice;
(2) it is reprehensible that no individual has ever been 
found guilty for executing the Bytyqi brothers, or of any other 
crimes associated with their deaths, and that no individual is 
even facing charges for these horrible crimes;
(3) the Government of Serbia and its relevant ministries 
and offices, including the Serbian War Crimes Prosecutor's 
Office, should make it a priority to investigate and prosecute 
as soon as possible those current or former officials believed 
to be responsible for their deaths, directly or indirectly;
(4) the United States should devote sufficient resources to 
fully assist and properly monitor efforts by the Government of 
Serbia and its relevant ministries and offices to investigate 
and prosecute as soon as possible those individuals believed to 
be responsible for their deaths, directly or indirectly; and
(5) progress in resolving this case, or the lack thereof, 
should remain a significant factor determining the further 
development of relations between the United States and the 
Republic of Serbia.
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