A case file naming 35 defendants has been placed alongside the names of those who fell in Prekaz, 28 years after the events of March 1998. The Special Prosecution alleges that the accused were part of the senior command structures of the Serbian Police’s special units, which planned, coordinated and led the operation carried out in Prekaz on March 5, 6 and 7.
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Prekaz, associated with one of the gravest tragedies and one of the most powerful symbols in Kosovo’s history, has now also become the subject of judicial proceedings.
The Special Prosecution of the Republic of Kosovo has submitted the indictment to the Basic Court in Pristina, along with a request for the 35 people to be tried in absentia. They are charged with the criminal offense of “War crimes against the civilian population” over the Serbian forces’ attack on the Jashari neighborhood in Lower Prekaz on March 5, 6 and 7, 1998. Chief Prosecutor Blerim Isufaj described it as the first indictment of its kind related to the killing of civilians from the Jashari family and neighborhood.
According to the prosecution, the investigation did not merely establish that the attack had taken place. Prosecutors say they identified the units involved, their deployment on the ground, the chain of command, the defendants’ actions, the weapons used and the damage caused, while also establishing individual responsibility.
The best-known name among the defendants is Milorad Ulemek, known by the nickname “Legija.”
Valdet Gashi, the prosecutor in the case, said Ulemek was the head of Serbia’s Special Operations Unit. According to the indictment, he had been assigned to lead the direct attack on the home of Shaban Jashari’s family.
The Prosecution alleges that the event was not a spontaneous action, but an organized operation involving senior leaders of the Serbian Police’s special units.
The 35 people named in the case file have been identified in the published materials mainly by their initials: J.S., V.D., S.L., G.R., M.U., Z.T., Z.S., S.V., B.C., Z.M., R.S., V.T., B.P., R.M., M.S., S.I., N.S., B.F., Z.B., C.B., Z.R., D.I., S.M., V.J., M.L., R.C., S.P., N.M., V.R., D.Z., O.S., B.D., L.C., I.T. and M.B.
According to explanations provided by the Prosecution at a news conference, M.U. is Milorad Ulemek, known as “Legija.” All the defendants are accused of having planned, coordinated and directed the armed operation in the Jashari neighborhood while holding senior positions in the Serbian Police’s special structures.
The proceedings were initiated in absentia because, according to the Prosecution, all available means of securing the defendants’ participation in the proceedings had been used and exhausted. The information available to the Prosecution indicates that all 35 are still alive.
While most of the suspects are identified by their initials in the indictment, the names of the victims of Prekaz have been preserved in Kosovo’s memory for 28 years.
The list includes Adem Sh. Jashari, Adile B. Jashari, Afete H. Jashari, Afije A. Jashari, Ajvaz K. Jashari, Ali R. Jashari, Avdullah Z. Jashari, Bahtije M. Jashari, Beqir B. Jashari, Besim H. Jashari, Blerim H. Jashari, Blerim Z. Jashari, Blerina H. Jashari, Bujar Z. Jashari, Elfije S. Jashari, Elheme U. Jashari, Faik T. Jashari, Fatime H. Jashari, Fatime S. Jashari, Fatime Xh. Bazaj, Feride R. Jashari, Fitim A. Jashari, Hajrije Z. Jashari, Hajzer Z. Jashari, Halil B. Jashari, Halit I. Jashari, Hamdi S. Jashari, Hamëz Sh. Jashari, Hamide A. Jashari and Hamit H. Jashari.
Also on the list are Hanife Z. Jashari, Hidajete R. Jashari, Igball R. Jashari, Igballe R. Jashari, Isak F. Halili, Kajtaz M. Jashari, Kushtrim A. Jashari, Lirie H. Jashari, Mihrije F. Jashari, Murtez Z. Jashari, Nazmi Z. Jashari, Osman Sh. Geci, Qazim O. Jashari, Qerim H. Jashari, Ramiz S. Jashari, Sabrije Z. Jashari, Sadik H. Jashari, Salë Sh. Jashari, Selvete H. Jashari and Shaban M. Jashari.
The other names are Shahin Q. Jashari, Sherif B. Jashari, Sinan R. Jashari, Smajl A. Jashari, Smajl Xh. Bazaj, Ukshin Q. Jashari, Valdete R. Jashari, Zahide Sh. Jashari and Zarife B. Jashari. This is the list of 59 people who fell, published as part of the list of martyrs from the battle of the Jashari family.
The victims included men, women, elderly people and children. The Special Prosecution said the current indictment covers 26 civilians killed throughout the Jashari neighborhood, including children, women and elderly people. According to information released by the prosecutor, the youngest victim was five years old. The Prosecution also alleges that several neighborhood residents were taken hostage and mistreated.
The figures associated with Prekaz require a clear distinction. The current criminal case covers 26 civilian victims, while accounts and commemorative lists of the Epic refer to 59 people who fell during the three-day battle. The “Betimi për Drejtësi” report on the indictment uses the wording that 58 members of the Jashari family were killed.
The indictment cannot change what happened in March 1998, nor can it bring back the children, mothers, fathers and elderly people who lost their lives. Nevertheless, 28 years later, for the first time, a case file naming 35 people whom the Prosecution alleges bear criminal responsibility has been brought before a court in Kosovo.
Prekaz now has two lists before it: the names of those who fell, remembered by Kosovo for 28 years, and the initials of the 35 defendants, whose responsibility must be determined by the justice system.
The victims’ names are now part of history. As for the 35 accused, there is now an indictment, and it will be up to the court to decide whether each of them is guilty or not guilty.
