Hearing against Pantiq and Zariq closed to the public, protected witness expected to testify

At the Basic Court in Pristina, Thursday’s hearing in the trial against Momir Pantiq and Zharko Zariq, who are accused of war crimes against civilians in the Istog area, was held behind closed doors. The reason for closing the hearing was the testimony of a witness who has been granted anonymous status.

The presiding judge, Donikë Shala-Abdyli, announced that the protected witness identified as B1 was scheduled to testify at Thursday’s hearing. The court had previously ordered protective measures and anonymity for the witness, reports “Betimi për Drejtësi”.

Special Prosecutor Florije Salihu-Shamolli asked the court to hold the hearing without the presence of the public, citing the highly sensitive nature of the case.

The defense attorneys for the two defendants, Millosh Deleviq and Dejan Vasiq, did not object to the proposal, leaving the decision to the court.

Following this, the trial panel decided to close the hearing to the public.

According to the indictment filed by the Special Prosecution of the Republic of Kosovo on September 1, 2024, former head of the police station in Istog, Momir Pantiq, and former police officer Zharko Zariq are accused of jointly committing the criminal offense of “War crime against the civilian population”.

The indictment, obtained by “Betimi për Drejtësi”, states that on May 19, 1999, in the village of Dubrava, specifically at Dubrava Prison, after NATO airstrikes killed three Albanian prisoners, Pantiq, as head of the police station, went to take control of the situation together with Serbian police forces. After the bombing ended, they entered the prisoners’ rooms together with the prison guards and subjected them to systematic violence, beating them in a cruel and inhumane manner simply because they were Albanians.

The indictment states that NATO bombing continued on May 21, when 18 Albanian prisoners were killed and dozens of others were wounded. The following day, in the morning hours, the guards, armed Serbian prisoners, police forces and Special Units under the command of the Istog Police Station first gathered the Albanian prisoners in the sports field and then opened fire with various types of weapons, while throwing bombs at them from behind the prison wall.

According to the indictment, Serbian police forces from the Istog Police Station, led by Pantiq, also abducted an Albanian civilian identified by the pseudonym “A1”, whom they sexually assaulted. In addition to victim “A1”, the indictment also describes the assault of another victim, identified as “B1”. The defendants are also accused of killing several families in the Municipality of Istog.