KABUL, AFGHANISTAN – Serbia’s Ministry of Interior has announced the release of two Afghan nationals and three Turkish nationals who were kidnapped in Belgrade.
Serbian news outlet “Srpske” reported that three people have been arrested in connection with the kidnapping.
According to the report, Serbia’s Ministry of Interior (MUP) said on Sunday, August 30, that the operation was carried out under the direction of the Higher Public Prosecutor’s Office in Belgrade.
The ministry said the kidnapping took place on August 26 on Gavrila Principa Street in Belgrade.
The suspects are accused of kidnapping two Afghan nationals and three Turkish nationals, five foreign citizens in total, and demanding €30,000 for their release.
The arrested suspects were identified as S. P., 30; S. K., 43; and D. S., a 29-year-old citizen of Bosnia and Herzegovina. According to the ministry, the suspects transported the kidnapped foreigners by car to a rural house in the Vladimirci area.
“To a cottage in the Vladimirci municipality, where they were physically and psychologically abused,” the Ministry of Interior of the Republic of Serbia said in its statement, describing how the abducted men were treated.
A 48-hour detention order has been issued for all three suspects. They will subsequently be brought before the relevant prosecutor along with the case file.
Until a final court ruling is issued, the three individuals are considered suspects, and their guilt can only be determined by a court.
The ministry did not provide further details about the condition of the five kidnapped foreign nationals or the progress of the case before the prosecutor’s office.
The incident comes as Afghanistan continues to be a significant source of migrants and asylum seekers travelling through the Western Balkans toward Western Europe. Serbia has long been an important transit country along this route, and Afghan nationals have formed one of the largest migrant groups travelling through the region.
Afghans have migrated from the country for decades because of conflict, insecurity, poverty, unemployment and limited access to basic services. However, the situation deteriorated significantly after the Taliban took control of Afghanistan in August 2021, as the country faced a deep economic and humanitarian crisis alongside widespread restrictions on human rights, particularly for women and girls.
For many Afghans, fear of persecution, insecurity and restrictions on their rights have also become major reasons for leaving the country. A UNHCR study found that among Afghans travelling toward Europe, 88% cited conflict or violence as a primary reason for their movement, while post-2021 arrivals frequently reported protection concerns linked to the Taliban, affiliation with the former government and restrictions on women.
Afghans travelling through the region also face risks of exploitation, trafficking and violence. International assessments have identified migrants and refugees transiting or stranded in Serbia as particularly vulnerable to trafficking and other forms of exploitation.
A recent analysis by the Afghanistan Analysts Network found that Afghan migrant-smuggling networks in the Balkans have become increasingly professionalised and transnational, with some evolving into violent criminal organisations.
According to the International Organization for Migration (IOM), about 8 million Afghans have left the country since 2020, including around 1 million who reached Europe, most via irregular routes. The agency has documented at least 5,046 Afghan migrant deaths since 2014, many occurring along border crossings following the Taliban’s return to power in 2021.
The latest kidnapping, however, does not establish that the five victims were involved in migrant smuggling or trafficking, and Serbian authorities have not publicly provided further details about the motive for the abduction.
