Court Reopens Proceedings Against Milorad Gjoković over War Crimes Charges

The trial in the criminal case against Milorad Gjoković, who is accused of war crimes against Albanian civilians, will be reopened following a decision by the Basic Court in Pristina, KosovaPress reports.

The decision concerns the statement of witness Nurije Krasniqi, who said she had been questioned by police about the case immediately after the war, although she could not remember the date on which she gave her testimony.

At the request of the defendant’s lawyers, the court had asked the Institute for Crimes Committed During the War in Kosovo to obtain the statement. However, the Institute said it did not have such testimony in its possession.

Presiding judge Donika Shala Abdyli said that, following a review of the case file, it had been determined that not all avenues for locating this evidence had been exhausted. According to her, reopening the proceedings is necessary to fully clarify the case, as Krasniqi testified under oath that she had given evidence to police authorities after the war ended.

The court will inquire whether the statement is held at the police station in Peja and, if necessary, by international institutions that operated in Kosovo after the war, including UNMIK and EULEX. Shala Abdyli stressed that the aim is for the final decision to be based on the most comprehensive possible examination of the evidence.

If the testimony cannot be obtained, then, depending on the findings, Nurije Krasniqi may be summoned to testify before the court again.

According to the prosecution’s indictment, during 1998-1999, in the village of Ozdrim in Peja and other villages in the region, Gjoković is suspected of having taken measures, in his capacity as a member of the Serbian police and military forces, that included the killing, searching, beating, mistreatment, arrest, torture, cruel and inhumane treatment, enslavement, expulsion and deportation of dozens of Albanian civilians.

He is also charged with looting, burning and destroying the homes of the Albanian civilian population.

The indictment, drawn up on June 23, 2023, states that regular military forces had entered Ozdrim from the north via the Peja-Mitrovica regional road. Meanwhile, mixed paramilitary groups and members of special military units had advanced from the west of the village, in the direction of Vitomirica.

The indictment alleges that these forces opened fire on the civilian population, killing six Albanian civilians identified by the initials I.K., Sh.K., E.M., R.Sh., Z.Sh. and M.H.

Three other civilians, A.G., H.G. and M.G., were wounded by gunfire and initially taken to Peja Hospital. According to the prosecution, they were later executed and buried in the village of Lutogllava.

Five other Albanian civilians, R.K., Z.K., A.K., A.K. and A.Sh., are also suspected of having been killed during the offensive. Their bodies have not been found, and they remain listed as missing persons.