Trial Over “Ibër-Lepenc” Attack Held Under Tight Security, Damage Exceeds €376,000

On 27.07.2026, at 10:42, Dragisha Viqentijeviq, Jovan Viqentijeviq and Igor Dimoviq were brought under tight security to the Basic Court in Pristina. All three are accused in connection with the terrorist attack on the “Ibër-Lepenc” canal in Zubin Potok.

The hearing at the Palace of Justice began at 10:00 on Monday. At the previous hearing, held on July 9, the defendants pleaded not guilty and refused to read the indictment.

Proceedings continued on Monday with testimony from Ernest Kërçeli, director of Infrastructure at the “Ibër-Lepenc” company, who appeared as a witness and representative of the injured party. Kërçeli is also director of the company’s Water and Generation Department.

In his testimony before the trial panel, he said the explosion on November 29, 2024, in Varagë, Zubin Potok, had caused the company more than €376,000 in damage. As a result, the supply of water to water utilities was interrupted for a period of three to five days.

According to Kërçeli, as soon as information about the explosion was received, “Ibër-Lepenc” teams were immediately mobilized to assess the extent of the damage and ensure the continuation of the water supply, with particular emphasis on the “Kosova B” Power Plant.

He said that when they arrived at the scene, they found extremely extensive damage on a scale the company had never encountered before.

After receiving authorization from the Kosovo Police, the teams carried out a temporary intervention by installing six pipes with a diameter of more than 900 millimeters so that the flow of water could continue.

According to Kërçeli, approximately 75 percent of the supply capacity was restored during the night of the attack. However, water utilities continued to face restrictions for several days.

He explained that water utilities had gone without supplies for three to five days and, even after supplies resumed, they had not operated at full capacity.

Kërçeli described the “Ibër-Lepenc” canal as vital infrastructure for Kosovo, as it provides water both for electricity generation and for more than half of the country’s population.

According to him, Kosovo’s energy system cannot function without the canal because the water is needed to cool the turbines at the “Kosova B” Power Plant. He added that the canal supplies water to more than 500,000 residents.

Referring to the financial cost, the witness said the damage had been repaired as part of a rehabilitation project financed through a World Bank loan. He said the report prepared by the supervising company assessed the damage at more than €376,000.

When asked by the defense whether he knew or had previously met the defendants, Kërçeli replied that he did not know them.

According to the Special Prosecution’s indictment, on 29.11.24, in the section of the “Ibër-Lepenc” canal in the village of Varagë, in the Municipality of Zubin Potok, the Viqentijeviq brothers, acting together with several individuals who have yet to be identified and following a prior agreement, placed around 20 kilograms of Trinitrotoluene, “TNT,” explosives inside the canal.

The prosecution alleges that Dragisha and Jovan Viqentijeviq detonated the explosives using a bag they had tied with rope to a concrete pillar. The explosion severely damaged the canal’s concrete structure, interrupted the drinking water supply, put electricity generation at risk and caused €376,774.70 in damage to the “Ibër-Lepenc” company.

For these actions, the Viqentijeviq brothers are charged with the criminal offense of “Endangering the constitutional order by destroying or damaging public installations,” under Article 122, in conjunction with “Commission of a terrorist offense.” They are also charged with espionage.

All three defendants, Dragisha Viqentijeviq, Jovan Viqentijeviq and Igor Dimoviq, also face charges of unlawful possession of weapons.

The prosecution’s case file states that Jovan Viqentijeviq said during the investigation that, in September 2023, he had trained alongside around 120 other people at the Serbian military training ground “Pasulanske Livade.”

According to the prosecution, members of the group led by Milan Radoiçiq, who is accused over the armed attack in Banjska, also trained at the same training ground during the same period.

The indictment also includes Viqentijeviq’s statement that another attack in Kosovo had been planned for October last year, but that the plan, according to him, had been canceled by Radoiçiq.

The evidence also includes an expert analysis by the US Federal Bureau of Investigation, FBI. According to the analysis, soil found on the defendants’ boots had the same composition as samples collected from the site of the explosion at the “Ibër-Lepenc” canal.

In an update at 11:11 on 27.07.2026, it was reported that the trial had continued with Kërçeli’s testimony. Proceedings are expected to continue with the questioning of witnesses and the admission of other evidence proposed by the parties.