The Basic Court in Prishtina has once again found Ekrem Bajrovic guilty in a retrial and sentenced him to 12 years in prison for war crimes committed during 1998-1999 in the municipality of Istog.
The decision was made public on Friday, 03.07.2026, by Judge Avni Syla.
Të lidhura
None found
According to this judgment, Ekrem Bajrovic is required to pay 300 euros in court flat-rate expenses, as well as 100 euros to the crime victims’ fund.
By a separate ruling, the defendant’s detention has been extended until this judgment becomes final.
The injured parties have been instructed to pursue their property-related legal claim through regular civil proceedings.
Parties who do not agree with this decision have the right to appeal within 30 days.
Ekrem Bajrovic is charged by the Special Prosecution with “war crimes against the civilian population” in Istog and the surrounding villages during 1998-1999.
According to the indictment, during the war in Kosovo in 1998-1999 in Istog and the surrounding areas, Bajrovic contributed to the implementation of repressive measures that included killings, raids, beatings, mistreatment, arrest, torture, and inhuman treatment against the civilian population.
According to the prosecution’s claims, he carried out these acts as a member of the Serbian police and military forces, both individually and in co-perpetration with other persons.
The indictment states that on 08.05.1999, in the village of Staradran, a column of civilians moving toward Albania was stopped by Serbian police and military forces, of which Bajrovic was also a part, and the boys and men were separated from the rest of the group.
According to the indictment, they were first stripped of their money and valuables, and were then taken to the yard of a person’s house, where they were lined up one by one with their hands raised and their faces toward the yard wall, while Serbian forces physically attacked them and beat them with various tools.
Also according to the indictment, during this time the Serbian police and military forces addressed them with the words: “Where is NATO?” and “Where is the KLA?”.
Further, the indictment stresses that they were taken to a house, where at least 16 Albanian civilians were executed. Only one of them managed to survive, although wounded.
Also, according to the indictment, on 07.05.1999 the accused participated in the arrest, kidnapping, and mistreatment of 84 Albanian civilians, who were initially separated from the column and deprived of all their money and valuables.
After this, they were taken to Gurakoc, to a premises, where according to the indictment they were mistreated and tortured in an inhuman manner, and later transferred to the Police Station in Gurakoc.
The indictment says the column was led by the accused Ekrem Bajrovic, of Bosniak nationality, who struck one person with the back of an automatic rifle on the right side below the ribs.
Then, according to the indictment, after the civilians were placed in the Police Station, they were tortured in an inhuman manner and were also subjected to psychological violence through death threats. The indictment further states that, in addition to serious bodily injuries, they suffered trauma and health consequences.
According to the indictment, these actions are punishable under domestic laws, as well as the International Geneva Convention.
