06.12.2024. » 17:29
#13 Milos Pleskovic, accused of war crimes, again pleads not guilty to the charges
In the trial of Milos Pleskovic, accused of war crimes in the Prizren area, the defendant again pleaded not guilty in the hearing held on November 1, 2024.
He is accused of shooting with a Kalashnikov rifle near the “Hoqa Mahalla” neighborhood on September 1, 1998, resulting in the death of three Albanian civilians. After prosecutor Ilir Morina read the indictment, Pleskovic was again asked about his plea.
“I plead not guilty,” stated the accused, Milos Pleskovic. The session then proceeded with the prosecutor’s opening statement. Prosecutor Morina emphasized the importance of the trial for justice and stated that material evidence and witnesses from three categories would be presented during the proceedings. “After 25 years, we begin a very important trial for justice in general, and especially for the victims present here. The victims will finally have the opportunity to understand what happened to their loved ones,” said prosecutor Morina.
He further added, “In this case, the saying ‘your own betrays you’ applies perfectly. The defendant grew up in the neighborhood of the victims, and as witnesses, including Mrs. Mihrije, will explain, the defendant, as a child, played with her children in their neighborhood.” Prosecutor Morina noted that identifying the defendant was straightforward for the witnesses as he had grown up with them. The representative of the injured party Mihrije Daqaj, attorney Gent Gjini, also gave an opening statement, asserting that material and circumstantial evidence would demonstrate that the accused committed the criminal act. He concluded by expressing confidence that, by the end of the evidentiary process, it would be proven that the accused should be found guilty and punished according to the law. Defense attorney Jovana Filipovic also presented her opening statement, asserting the innocence of her client, Milos Pleskovic. In her opening statement she stated that Pleskovic was merely a teenager at the time and had no formal military training.
Filipović further stated that “Milos Pleskovic never had issues, or suspicion of this criminal offense. “Milosh Plesković has always had all documentation of Kosovo and was accessible to law enforcement at all times, yet he never faced the slightest of suspicions regarding this criminal offense,” stated Filipovic. During the session, as a witness was being excused from the courtroom, Filipovic argued that the witness should not have remained during for the opening statements and the reading of the indictment. She stated that her objections would be submitted in writing. Filipovic motioned that the witness’s statements made during the investigative phase be deemed inadmissible and that the witness be excluded from further proceedings.
Prosecutor Morina opposed the motion, arguing that there is no legal basis or provision in the Criminal Procedure Code supporting such a request. He also stated that the hearing is public and could even be viewed online. The injured party’s representative, attorney Gent Gjini, also opposed Filipovic's proposal regarding the witness. Presiding Judge, Rrahman Beqiri, announced that a decision on Filipovic’s motion would be made later. Filipovic also requested the submission of certain case documents from the prosecutor, including the transcript of the anonymous witness’s testimony.
Prosecutor Morina did not oppose the request for documents but objected to providing the transcript, citing a protective order issued by the pre-trial judge. The trial panel stated that a decision on these matters would be made later, while the anonymous witness’s status would be decided prior to their testimony. Additionally, the injured parties announced that they would submit a civil claim in the case. Prosecutor Morina proposed that the session be adjourned, as he had prepared only for the opening statements, not for witness hearings.
The proposal was supported by the other parties in the proceedings.
Next hearings in this case are scheduled for January 2025.
The trial is being presided by Judge Rrahman Beqiri, with Judges Violeta Namani-Hajra and Kujtim Krasniqi as members of the panel. The accused, Milos Pleskovic, has also pleaded not guilty in the initial hearing on June 21, 2024.
What does the prosecution file say?
According to the Prosecution’s file, during the Kosovo War in 1998–1999, in Prizren, amid a non-international conflict between the Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA) and the military and police forces of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (FRY) and Serbia, the accused Milos Pleskovic, intentionally and in collaboration with others, gravely violated international humanitarian law against civilians by committing murder. The indictment states that during the relevant period, FRY and Serbian military and police forces were stationed on the hills around Prizren due to ongoing armed conflict in the area. On or around September 1, 1998, near the “Hoqa Mahalla” neighborhood in Prizren, victims Reshat Daçaj, Binak Daçaj, and Fatmir Bojaxhiu, along with injured parties Fevzi Cana, Xhenger Cana, and Bashkim Kastrati, had gone to their forest land, about 300 meters from “Hoqa Mahalla,” to collect firewood. While walking, they encountered a group of 7–8 armed Serbian men wearing police and military uniforms with armbands and headbands, carrying automatic rifles. They first ordered them to sop, and then insulted them in Serbian. According to the indictment, among them was the accused. At that moment, Pleskovic fired a Kalashnikov rifle at the group. As the shooting began, victim Binak Daçaj, now deceased, pushed Xhenger Cana under the path to save him from being killed, as he was the youngest in the group.
According to the indictment, the injured Xhenger Cana, Fevzi Cana and Bashkim Kastrati ran towards their homes, whereas victims, now deceased Binak and Reshat Daçaj and Fatmir Bojaxhiu - were killed on the spot, from the shooting. After one week, with the permission of the Serbian police, family members of the victims went to collect the bodies of now deceased Binak, Reshat and Fatmir, and saw that the bodies of the victims were mutilated. Reshat and Binak’s bodies were placed one on top of the other, and one of them had his leg cut off from the body. Fatmir’s head had been severed from the body. According to the indictment there is a well-founded suspicion that the accused, in co-perpetration, has committed the criminal offense “War Crime against the civilian population”.
Former senior political and military leaders of the remaining Yugoslavia and former Serbia were tried and even convicted for the massacres, other war crimes, and crimes against humanity committed in Kosovo. Former President of Yugoslavia, Slobodan Milošević, was accused of war crimes and crimes against humanity committed by Serbian and Yugoslav forces in Kosovo. Milošević was also charged with war crimes and crimes against humanity committed during the wars in Bosnia and Herzegovina and Croatia. His trial at the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY), based in The Hague, did not conclude, as Milošević died on March 11, 2006, in his cell while in detention. Milan Milutinović, former President of Serbia, was acquitted of war crime charges related to the Kosovo conflict. 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 for crimes against humanity.
Nebojsha Pavkovic, the 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 for crimes against humanity. Sreten Lukić, former head of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Serbia’s Kosovo staff, was sentenced to 20 years of imprisonment for crimes against humanity and violations of the laws or customs of war.
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