Millorad Gjoković sentenced to a decade in prison for war crimes

The Basic Court in Pristina has found Millorad Gjoković guilty of war crimes against the civilian population and sentenced him to 10 years in prison, reports Ekonomia Online.

The verdict was announced by the presiding judge, Donika Shala-Abdyli.

According to the decision, Gjoković was found guilty of acts committed on May 7, 1999, during the war in Kosovo, in the village of Ozdrim in the Municipality of Peja. Acting as a reserve police officer, together with other individuals, he had violated the rules of international law. Based on the provisions of the former Yugoslavia’s Criminal Code, the court sentenced him to 10 years in prison, with the time he spent in pretrial detention to be credited toward his sentence.

On July 27 this year, the trial panel had decided to reopen the judicial review after the statement of witness Nurije Krasniqi could not be found at the Institute for Crimes Committed During the War in Kosovo.

Krasniqi had stated that she gave her testimony in the case to the police after the end of the war, although she had been unable to recall the exact date.

At the time, Donika Shala-Abdyli said the court considered that all possibilities for securing this evidence had not yet been exhausted.

The indictment filed by the Prosecution on June 23, 2023, charged Gjoković with committing acts against Albanian civilians in Ozdrim, Peja, and the surrounding villages during 1998–1999, as a member of the Serbian police and military forces.

The offenses of which he was accused included killings, searches, beatings, mistreatment, arrests, torture, cruel and inhumane treatment, holding people in conditions of slavery, as well as the expulsion and deportation of dozens of civilians.

Gjoković was also accused of looting, burning and destroying the homes of the Albanian civilian population.

The indictment states that regular Serbian military forces entered the village from the north, via the Peja–Mitrovica regional road. Meanwhile, from the west, along the border with Vitomirica, paramilitary groups entered, including members of special military units.

The Prosecution alleged that these forces fired weapons at civilians, killing six Albanians: I.K., Sh.K., E.M., R.Sh., Z.Sh. and M.H.

Three other civilians, A.G., H.G. and M.G., who were wounded by the gunfire, were initially taken to Peja Hospital. According to the indictment, they were later executed and buried in the village of Lëvoshë.

Five other Albanian civilians were also killed during the offensive: R.K., Z.K., A.K., A.K. and A.Sh. Their bodies have not been found, and they continue to be listed as missing persons.