Kosovo’s Special Prosecution filed an indictment on Thursday for war crimes against 20 individuals, related to the atrocities that occurred in Gjakova.
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Among the accused is also Milan Radoičić.
This group of 20 people is charged with complicity in the killing of 107 innocent civilians, and the Prosecution has requested a trial in absentia for them.
The defendants, who face the charge of “war crimes against the civilian population,” have been identified by the prosecution only with their initials: M.K., R.C., M.D., P.R., S.K., L.O., Zh.S., S.S., L.D., Z.R., D.G., Ç.B., V.B., R.B., R.R., L.R., M.Sh., M.R., S.G., and T.A.
The Prosecution also disclosed the positions the defendants held during that period.
According to the official announcement, during the period 1998-1999, M.K., as head of the Secretariat of Internal Affairs in Gjakova, R.Ç., as commander of the Special Police units, and M.D., as commander of the 52nd Rocket Artillery Brigade, together with the rest of the defendants, including Radoičić, “as members of these units are accused of participating in the elimination of 107 civilians during a ‘large-scale military-police operation’.”
The Special Prosecution statement says: “During this operation, according to the indictment, women and children were initially separated from the men. Gold jewelry, money, and other valuables were taken from the women, while the men were executed, some in their homes and yards, and others at the place called ‘Taliq Bridge.’ Furthermore, houses were also set on fire.”
Security expert Arben Dashevci says that the filing of these indictments sends a direct and deserved message, showing that despite the protection they enjoy in Serbia, they will have to surrender to Kosovo’s justice authorities.
Since the trial will be held in absentia, Dashevci stresses to “Bota sot” that this clearly shows that the suspects are not at all at ease with the crimes they are charged with. “The signal sent by the indictment against Milan Radoičić and 19 other members for war crimes, especially considering his role in recent events in northern Kosovo, is clear and direct. Although they are fugitives, sooner or later, with changes in the Serbian establishment, they will be forced to hand them over to our authorities. These serious crimes never become time-barred. The Prosecution’s request for a trial in absentia has a strong impact on them, as they find no peace and move only within Serbia. Kosovo’s efforts to establish justice and international cooperation for the arrest of the defendants do not cease – wherever they are and can be caught, they will face the law,” he stated.
He further adds that justice must reach them no matter where they hide. “Our institutions’ commitment to pursuing the perpetrators of these massacres is excellent. Truth and evidence are on our side, and I believe the law will catch them, whether through trial in absentia or with their physical presence in court,” the expert concluded.
It should be recalled that in April 2025, the Basic Prosecution in Gjakova issued an arrest warrant for Radoičić and 19 other Serbs, suspected of involvement in the murders of civilians in Gjakova, whose remains were later discovered in a mass grave in Serbia.
The reasoning of that warrant stated that during the period May 7-10, 1999, Serbian armed and police forces, including the defendants, entered houses near the “Taliq Bridge” in Gjakova, forcibly and with threats removed all persons there, separated the men from the women and children, and then killed a total of 106 Albanian civilians. After the war, their bodies were found in Batajnica, Serbia.
The arrest warrant document also stressed that the persons involved, including Radoičić, had arrested and imprisoned over 300 Albanian civilians during those three days, who were held in improvised facilities without humane conditions, lacking food, hygiene, and medical assistance. A large number of them were later transferred to various Kosovo prisons and released after June 1999 through the mediation of international organizations, according to the Basic Court of Gjakova.
Meanwhile, journalist Gëzim Olluri assesses that trials of this nature function as institutional mechanisms for preserving collective memory. According to him, moving evidence from the field to the legal sphere gives war testimonies a legal form. “Although belated, such indictments carry moral and historical importance for Kosovo’s past. Judicial processes like this serve as undeniable archives for future generations and ensure that such tragedies do not fade away. Confronting the past cannot be achieved without punishing the criminals and the aggressor’s acceptance of the truth,” Olluri stated to “Bota sot.”
According to him, bringing the perpetrators to justice and punishing them eases, even if just a little, the pain of the victims’ families. He emphasizes that this indictment should not be seen as an ordinary judicial process, but as evidence of Serbia’s genocidal intentions. “The weight of these trials goes beyond the limits of a simple criminal case. The indictment for the murder of 107 Albanian civilians in Gjakova is at the same time a tribute to the victims. Societies’ confrontation with the past is a condition for political stability, and there can be no sincere negotiations with Serbia without it taking responsibility for the genocide against Albanians,” Olluri concluded.
