[Congressional Record Volume 168, Number 106 (Wednesday, June 22, 2022)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E655-E656]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




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

                                 ______
                                 

                               speech of

                        HON. SHEILA JACKSON LEE

                                of texas

                    in the house of representatives

                         Tuesday, June 21, 2022

  Ms. JACKSON LEE. Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H. Con. Res.E 
``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''.
  This resolution would demand that the individuals who so 
unconscionably murdered the Bytyqi Brothers shortly after the end of 
the Kosovo war be held accountable by the Serbian government.
  This resolution reaffirms our commitment to American citizens, that, 
no matter what, they will receive the justice that they and their 
families deserve, regardless of how long it has been.
  Ylli, Agron, and Mehmet were American citizens traveling on a 
humanitarian mission to combat the genocide of Serbian Albanians in 
1999, who, after unknowingly crossing an unmarked border, were 
extrajudicially kidnapped, imprisoned, tortured, murdered, and 
callously thrown into a mass grave by Serbian government officials.
  Their bodies were not discovered until 2001.
  These officials knew the entire time that the Bytyqi brothers were 
Americans citizens, and undeterred, carried out crime after crime, even 
after a Serbian judge ordered the brothers' release.
  Despite this horrific crime, despite promises from President 
Aleksandar Vucic and Foreign Minister Ivica Dacic, not one person has 
been held responsible in the past 23 years.
  We cannot allow this injustice to exist, and we cannot allow other 
countries to believe that it is in any way acceptable to treat American 
citizens in this manner.
  It is unacceptable that there has been no movement on this case in 
years.
  Ylli, Agron, and Mehmet and the remaining Bytyqi family deserve 
justice, and the Serbian government agrees. How then has nothing been 
done to secure this justice?
  Since the Serbian government has not acted, the United States must 
devote resources to fully assist and monitor Serbia's efforts to 
investigate this crime against American citizens.
  No American should experience what the Bytyqi brothers and their 
families have experienced, and we should make it clear that the United 
States will always seek justice for its people.

[[Page E656]]

  I urge all my colleagues to support H. Con. Res.E ``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''.

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