OPEN LETTER/ Come to the dialogue and listen to me speak, otherwise I will cut off your scholarships, you will rot in prison. Please!

 Kliko këtu për të tjera
Voxpress:

The Special Prosecutor's Office files an indictment for Banjska almost a year after the attack

2024-09-11 12:55:14Kosova&Bota SHKRUAR NGA REDAKSIA VOX

The Special Prosecutor's Office files an indictment for Banjska almost a

The Special Prosecutor's Office of Kosovo announced today that it has filed an indictment against 45 people - among them Millan Radoicic - for the armed attack in Banjska.

Those involved, according to the prosecutor of the case, Naim Abazi, had different roles within the criminal group - "starting from the organization and direction of terrorist activities to financing and money laundering".

On September 24 last year, in this village of Zveçan - the northern part of Kosovo - armed groups of Serbs attacked the Kosovo police, killing Sergeant Afrim Bunjaku.

In the armed clashes that followed, three more Serb attackers were killed. Authorities in Kosovo blamed the leadership of the Serbian state for organizing what they described as a terrorist attack, but it denied involvement.

Five days after the event, on September 29, the responsibility for it was taken by Radoicic, a former politician and businessman from the north of Kosovo, who is believed to be in Serbia. The High Public Prosecutor's Office in Belgrade is also conducting investigations into the case.

It charges Radoicic with several criminal offenses related to the illegal purchase of weapons and "causing general danger". In the last statement it made for the REL, on July 15, this prosecutor said that the investigations into the case "are continuing".

Who is Radoicic?

Millan Radoicic was the vice-president of Lista Serbe, the largest party of Serbs in Kosovo, which enjoys the support of official Belgrade. He resigned from this position a few days after the attack in Banjska.

For years, he has been sanctioned by the US and Great Britain for participating in international organized crime. Otherwise, the US State Department describes him as a criminal who must be held accountable.

What happened in Kosovo?

In mid-July, Radio Free Europe's sources in the Special Prosecutor's Office of Kosovo said that the work on the case in Banjska "is in the final phase" and that "the investigations in the case of Radoicic have reached the final epilogue".

At that time, they warned that the indictment will not be filed before the fall, namely until "after the completion and examination of some peripheral reports". At the request of the Ministry of Interior of Kosovo, the international police organization, INTERPOL, issued an arrest warrant for Radoicić at the end of last year.

While he is believed to be free in Serbia, three people are detained in Kosovo in connection with the case. Last month, the Ministry of Justice of Kosovo rejected the request of the High Public Prosecutor's Office in Belgrade for information related to the Banjska case.

What did Serbia do?

The President of Serbia, Aleksandar Vučić, said after the attack that Radočić is in the "territory of central Serbia". Since then, there has been no official information on his whereabouts.

The High Public Prosecutor's Office in Belgrade said in October of last year that Radoicic is accused of providing weapons, ammunition and explosive devices with great destructive power from Tuzla - a city in the northeast of Bosnia and Herzegovina - in the period from January to September 24 of last year.

He was also accused of "causing general danger".

The High Court in Belgrade, last October, rejected the Prosecutor's request for his detention and released him, but confiscated his passport and forbade him from going to Kosovo.

Impact on Kosovo-Albania relations

The Prime Minister of Kosovo, Albin Kurti, has conditioned the continuation of the dialogue for the normalization of relations with Serbia with the handover of Radoicic and his "terrorist paramilitary group" to the judicial authorities of Kosovo.

"As long as Radoicic and his group are free and protected in Serbia, there is no trust in the dialogue for normalization," Kurti said on June 28.

The state leadership in Serbia has denied several times that it had a hand in the attack in Banjska.

In March, some media have reported that the then ambassador of Serbia in the USA, Marko Djuric, met with Radoicic, but REL has not been able to determine the authenticity of the photo that was circulating at the time.

The international community has, several times, called for accountability and demanded that those involved in the attack in Banjska be brought to justice./REL


Në përputhje me standarded JTI

Video

SHIKO KANALIN NE YOUTUBE
×