21.10.2024. » 09:23
#10 Accused of war crimes in the region of Peja, Milorad Gjokovic is confronted with the testimony of the witness
Milorad Djoković, accused of war crimes in Kosovo in the period 1998-1999, appeared once again in front of the court in Pristina to face the charges of the Special Prosecutor's Office against him. Djoković is accused that during the years 1998-1999 in the village of Ozdrim in Peć/Peja municipality and the surrounding villages, against the rules of international law, had applied the measures of murder, raid, beating, mistreatment, arrest, torture, treatment in a cruel and inhuman way.
Milorad Djoković, accused of war crimes in Kosovo in the period 1998-1999, appeared once again in front of the court in Pristina to face the charges of the Special Prosecutor's Office against him. Djoković is accused that during the years 1998-1999 in the village of Ozdrim in Peć/Peja municipality and the surrounding villages, against the rules of international law, had applied the measures of murder, raid, beating, mistreatment, arrest, torture, treatment in a cruel and inhuman way.
Halit Gashi was heard as a witness on 18.10.2024, answering the questions of the defense of the accused, Djoković, after he had given his version of testimony to the special prosecutor in the last session. Gashi shared details before the court, how he had seen E. M. killed by a group of uniformed persons, but that he had not been able to identify who was the person who had shot the victim. According to the witness, E. M. was also with another person, but the same one, although injured and fell at the same time as E. M. fell, he escaped death by crawling. The witness further testified that after E. M. had fallen to the ground, the now accused Milorad Djoković and Momo Vukotić had approached his body, but he had not seen if they had taken any concrete action against the victim.
The witness answered that the distance between him and the place where the incident happened was about 60 meters. "No, I have not seen that since the seconds are in question" - said Gashi in the courtroom. Gashi said that he had now managed to identify the accused, since when E. M. fell to the ground, the first person who approached the victim's body was the accused. The defense raised objections, questioning the validity of the witness's testimony. Lawyer Arsić said that Gashi's statements were inconsistent, emphasizing that in a previous statement to the police, Gashi mentioned the possibility that three unknown people were involved in the shooting. However, during the hearing, Gashi said that he was sure that only Djoković and Vukotić were responsible. The witness said that the group of 5 people in which he had seen the accused were wearing uniforms with the white eagle logo, while he answered that the color could be blue. As the defense said, the same witness testified earlier that the uniforms were green.
"He is wearing blue paramilitary uniforms with white eagles," said the witness. Defense lawyer Vasilije Arsić insisted that Gashi's account should be examined further. He proposed that Gashi and another key witness, Ferat Morina, be interrogated together to resolve contradictions in their statements. According to Arsić, the defense had the right to confront these inconsistencies in order to ensure a fair trial. However, the prosecution opposed the request, on the grounds that there was no legal basis to interrogate the witnesses in this way and that such a confrontation would only delay the procedure. The judge rejected Arsić's request, citing Article 345 of the legal code, which allows confrontation between co-defendants, but not witnesses.
During the hearing, Gashi was asked about the events after E.M.'s death. He told how he first learned of E.M.'s death after he returned from Albania 5 to 6 weeks later. He also mentioned the conversation with XH. M., E's older brother, after the funeral and the discovery of the identity of the suspected killers. And showed the house of Momo Vukotić as the house of the murderer. During the same session, he stated that he had only stayed in Albania for 3 weeks and then found out about E.M.'s death. Gashi admitted that he had never discussed the murder with Ferat Morin, a fact that the defense considered suspicious. Lawyer Vasić- said that the prosecution should read the statement of Ferat Morin, who gave his testimony about this event, which will also reveal the inconsistency in the verification of the facts.
Defense lawyer Dejan Vasić questioned Gashi's memory of the event, especially in relation to the presence of other individuals near the scene. In previous statements, Gashi had mentioned that three unknown people were present alongside Djoković and Vukotić. However, during today’s session, he claimed that these three people never reached the place where E. M. and A. fell. Lawyer Vaslije Arsić asked the witness to tell the court if he was ever convicted of any criminal offense in the post-war period. No, I have never been convicted" - answered the witness to the lawyer's question.
The hearing concluded with both the defense and the prosecution maintaining their positions. The defense continued to argue that Gashi's conflicting statements cast doubt on the prosecution's case, mainly about three other inconsistent men who allegedly killed E.M. and the color of the uniform the accused was wearing during that incident. As presented by the defense, in the statement dated June 8, 2022, the witness stated that the accused was wearing a green military uniform, while today he stated that the uniform was paramilitary, blue in color with a white eagle on it. Regarding the charges that the prosecution the accused had pleaded not guilty.
What does the prosecution's file say?
According to the prosecution's file, during the war in Kosovo, during the years 1998-1999, in the village of Ozdrim in Peja and the surrounding villages, contrary to the rules of international law, he had applied the measures of murder, raid , beating, mistreatment, arrest, torture, treatment in a cruel and inhumane manner. According to the indictment, the same officer had expelled and deported dozens of Albanian civilians as well as applied the measures of keeping them in conditions of slavery. The persons who were harmed by these actions of the defendant were Albanians, who did not participate in the conflict. Further, according to the indictment, the defendant in the morning of May 1999, participating together with the military, police and paramilitary forces Serbs, had first surrounded the village of Ozdrim, and then started a military-police offensive. The indictment states that the village was surrounded and then attacked from three directions by the Serbian military-police forces. As a result of these actions, six people, who were civilians of Albanian nationality, were killed and three others were injured. After being wounded, the last three were first sent to Peć/Peja Hospital and then, according to the indictment, they were executed and buried in the village of Lutoglava.
According to the indictment, five other people were killed during this offensive, but their bodies were never found and today they appear in the list of missing persons. It is further stated in the indictment that in the same military-police action, in which the defendant is also a part, about 40 people were arrested who were sent to a garage called "Shupa e Shemit", this place which was located near the police substation in Ozdrim and there the same were kept for about 3 days in inhumane conditions in violation of all the rules of international law. The indictment states that the same were deprived of food and drinking water, physically torturing them the arrested, and after three days, only 12 of them were released. As for 28 of them, they were divided into three groups and transported to Peja, to a private house where the command of the Serbian army was located.
The prosecution’s file explains that these individuals were interrogated, tortured, and mistreated in cruel ways before being taken to the prison in Peja, and from there to the prison in Leskovac, Serbia, where the torture continued until they were finally released after the war ended with the help of the Red Cross.
About the massacres and other war crimes and crimes against humanity committed in Kosovo by Serbian and Yugoslav forces during the 1998/1999 war, former top political and military leaders of the former Yugoslavia and of Serbia were tried and some were convicted .The former president of Yugoslavia, Slobodan Milošević, was accused of war crimes and crimes against humanity, committed by the Serbian and Yugoslav forces in Kosovo. Milosevic was accused of war crimes and crimes against humanity committed in the wars in Bosnia and Herzegovina, as well as in Croatia. His trial at the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY), based in The Hague, had no conclusion after Milosevic died on 11.03.2006 in his cell while being held in custody. Millan Milutinović, the former president of Serbia, was acquitted of charges of war crimes during the conflict in Kosovo. Nikola Šainović, deputy prime minister of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, was sentenced to 18 years in prison for crimes against humanity and violations of the laws or customs of war. Dragoljub Ojdanić, former chief of the General Staff of the Yugoslav Army, was sentenced to 15 years in prison for crimes against humanity. Nebojša Pavković, former commander of the Third Army of the Yugoslav Army, was sentenced to 22 years in prison for crimes against humanity and violations of the laws or customs of war. Vladimir Lazarević, former commander of the Pristina Corps of the Yugoslav Army, was sentenced to 14 years in prison for crimes against humanity. Sreten Lukić , the former chief of staff of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Serbia for Kosovo, was sentenced to 20 years in prison for crimes against humanity and violations of the laws or customs of war. The full verdict, in English, can be found at the link.
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