Hearing continues in war crimes case against Ekrem Bajroviq, Naim Elshani testifies

The court hearing against Ekrem Bajroviq, who is accused of war crimes in Kosovo, has begun.

At today’s hearing, Naim Elshani is testifying before the trial panel.

According to the indictment of the Special Prosecution of the Republic of Kosovo, filed on September 15, 2023, Ekrem Bajroviq is charged with having committed war crimes against the civilian population in the Municipality of Istog and the surrounding villages during 1998-1999.

The indictment states that Bajroviq, in his capacity as a member of the Serbian police and military forces, both individually and in co-perpetration with other persons, participated in and contributed to the implementation of repressive measures, including the killing, raiding, beating, mistreatment, arrest, torture, cruel and inhuman treatment, keeping people in conditions of slavery, expulsion and deportation of the civilian population, as well as the looting, burning, and destruction of the homes of civilians of Albanian nationality.

Meanwhile, on July 19, 2024, the Basic Court in Prishtina had sentenced the accused, Ekrem Bajroviq, to 12 years in prison for war crimes committed during 1998-1999 in the Municipality of Istog and the surrounding villages.

However, the case has been returned for retrial by the Supreme Court, which in its decision drafted on December 4, 2025, approved the request for the protection of legality submitted by Bajroviq’s defense, namely lawyers Ljubomir Pantoviq and Milosh Deleviq.