Kodraliu: The attack on the Ibër-Lepenc canal was a continuation of organized attacks against Kosovo’s security

At the opening statements hearing in the case of the terrorist attack on the Ibër-Lepenc canal, Special Prosecutor Bekim Kodraliu said that the event of November 29, 2024 was not a random act, but part of a chain of serious organized attacks against Kosovo’s legal order and national security.

According to him, the attack on Ibër-Lepenc, in the Prosecution’s assessment, represents the fourth case of this kind, after the attack on the CEC offices in Mitrovica in 2022, the attack on KFOR soldiers in 2023, the barricades and the attack in Banjska that same year.

He stressed that this attack is part of a series of serious actions directed against the country’s institutions and security.

“The attack on this canal constitutes a continuation of a series of serious attacks which over the past three years have aimed to undermine the legal order and national security. Based on the evidence we have secured and that will be presented before you, this attack represents the fourth attack of this nature, following earlier incidents that undermined the country’s institutions and security. I must single out the attack on the CEC offices in Mitrovica in December 2022, followed by the attack on KFOR soldiers in May 2023, the setting up of barricades and the attack in Banjska in September 2023, culminating in the terrorist attack on the Ibër-Lepenc canal,” he said.

Kodraliu also announced that before the trial panel, the Prosecution will present evidence secured in cooperation with the FBI from the United States, as well as scientific evidence from the Italian police, which, according to him, proves the guilt of the defendants for terrorist attack.

Likewise, the special prosecutor said that part of the evidentiary materials concerns the training and preparations suspected to have taken place in Serbia.

“Among the evidence to be presented will also be evidence showing the training and preparations that took place at the military training ground called ‘Livadhet e Pasulit’ in Serbia, which is now also suspected of containing a mass grave, all of this as part of unlawful preparations against the state of Kosovo,” he said.

He added that both brothers of the accused are also suspected of serious murder in the territory of Istog, while he requested punishment under Kosovo’s criminal code.