IV 
115TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION 
H. CON. RES. 20 
Expressing the sense of the House of Representatives 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 
FEBRUARY 6, 2017 
Mr. ZELDIN (for himself, Mr. SMITH of New Jersey, Mr. ENGEL, and Ms. 
MENG) submitted the following concurrent resolution; which was referred 
to the Committee on Foreign Affairs 
CONCURRENT RESOLUTION 
Expressing the sense of the House of Representatives regard-
ing the execution-style murders of United States citizens 
Ylli, Agron, and Mehmet Bytyqi in the Republic of Ser-
bia in July 1999. 
Whereas brothers Ylli, Agron, and Mehmet Bytyqi were citi-
zens 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 Yugo-
slavia of which Serbia was a constituent republic by join-
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
00:39 Feb 07, 2017
Jkt 069200
PO 00000
Frm 00001
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6300
E:\BILLS\HC20.IH
HC20
smartinez on DSK3GLQ082PROD with BILLS
•HCON 20 IH 
ing the so-called ‘‘Atlantic Brigade’’ of the Kosovo Lib-
eration Army in April 1999; 
Whereas a Military-Technical Agreement between the Govern-
ment 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 es-
corting an ethnic Romani family who had been neighbors 
to safety outside Kosovo; 
Whereas the Bytyqi brothers were jailed for 15 days for ille-
gal 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 dem-
onstrations protesting his refusal to acknowledge and ac-
cept 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 free-
doms, including as the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
00:39 Feb 07, 2017
Jkt 069200
PO 00000
Frm 00002
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6300
E:\BILLS\HC20.IH
HC20
smartinez on DSK3GLQ082PROD with BILLS
•HCON 20 IH 
evolved into a State Union of Serbia and Montenegro in 
February 2003, which itself dissolved when both repub-
lics 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; 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
00:39 Feb 07, 2017
Jkt 069200
PO 00000
Frm 00003
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6300
E:\BILLS\HC20.IH
HC20
smartinez on DSK3GLQ082PROD with BILLS
•HCON 20 IH 
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 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 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 re-
garding 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 mur-
ders 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; 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
00:39 Feb 07, 2017
Jkt 069200
PO 00000
Frm 00004
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\HC20.IH
HC20
smartinez on DSK3GLQ082PROD with BILLS
•HCON 20 IH 
(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 re-
sponsible for their deaths, directly or indirectly; 
(4) the United States should devote sufficient 
resources fully to assist and properly to monitor ef-
forts by the Government of Serbia and its relevant 
ministries and offices to investigate and prosecute as 
soon as possible those individuals believed to be re-
sponsible for their deaths, directly or indirectly; and 
(5) progress in resolving this case, or the lack 
thereof, should remain a significant factor deter-
mining the further development of relations between 
the United States and the Republic of Serbia. 
Æ 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
00:39 Feb 07, 2017
Jkt 069200
PO 00000
Frm 00005
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6301
E:\BILLS\HC20.IH
HC20
smartinez on DSK3GLQ082PROD with BILLS