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In the Basic Court of Prishtina today, a preparatory session is expected to be held in the Banjska case, based on the indictment filed by the Special Prosecutor's Office of Kosovo on September 11 against 45 people, including Millan Radoiciq.
Most of them are inaccessible to the Kosovo judicial system. There are indications that an adjournment of the hearing will be requested as the lawyers have just received the indictment in Serbian and, according to them, have not had time to prepare.
This session comes one day after the anniversary of the attack in Banjska, in the north of Kosovo, when an armed Serb group attacked the police and killed Sergeant Afrim Bunjaku. In the exchange of fire that followed, three Serbian attackers were also killed.
The indictment charges most of them with committing terrorism and serious crimes against the constitutional order and security of Kosovo.
The responsibility for the attack was taken by Millan Radoicic, former vice-president of Lista Serbe, the largest party of Serbs in Kosovo, which has the support of official Belgrade. It is believed that he and other members of this armed group are in Serbia.
Only three people who were arrested during the attack in Banjska are in custody in Kosovo: Vladimir Tolic, Blagoje Spasojevic and Dushan Maksimovic.
Kosovo's Minister of Internal Affairs, Xhelal Sveçla, in an interview for Radio Free Europe (REL), on September 24, said that Kosovo's laws allow for trial in absentia, and that Serbia "sooner or later will be forced to hand over Radoicic and others".
Lubomir Pantović, the lawyer of the arrested Spasojevic, told REL last week that the trial will be "difficult, serious and complex", as the criminal offenses mentioned in the indictment are such.
His client, Blagoje Spasojevic, told the police some details after the arrest, but stressed that he did not know that on September 24, 2023, an armed attack would take place. Meanwhile, at the suggestion of his lawyer, he later decided to defend himself by remaining silent.
What does the charge say?
The Special Prosecutor's Office of Kosovo charges the accused with, among other things, terrorist offenses and offenses against the constitutional order and security of Kosovo.
Prosecutor Naim Abazi said the accused had various roles within the criminal group - from organizing and directing terrorist activities to financing and money laundering.
In the indictment it is stated that this group, through the use of violence with heavy weapons, tried to "separate the northern part of the territory of the Republic of Kosovo, respectively the municipalities inhabited by Serb majority, and to join this part of the territory to the Republic of Serbia ".
Millan Radoicic has been identified as the leader of this group, who is said to have played an important role in the coordination and criminal activities. Radoicic is blacklisted by the United States and the United Kingdom for links to international organized crime and corruption. In Kosovo, Radoicic is also linked to the murder of a Serbian opposition politician and the intimidation of witnesses in a court case related to illegal construction.
In the indictment, the Prosecution mentions 34 files with evidence, among which there are video recordings, analysis of electronic devices, various answers from Luxembourg, Bosnia and Herzegovina, banks and various institutions, witness statements, etc.
The investigation into the attack in Banjska is also being led by the High Public Prosecutor's Office in Belgrade, which charges Radoicic with three criminal offenses - among which are the unauthorized production, possession, possession and trafficking of firearms and explosives, and serious crimes against public safety. The other suspects are unknown persons (NN).
Kosovo authorities consider the attack in Banjska a terrorist act and accuse Serbia of being behind it. Minister Svečla said that there is intelligence information that the same groups continue to train in the territory of Serbia and around the border between Kosovo and Serbia.
On the other hand, Serbia has in some cases denied any involvement, while the president of Serbia, Aleksandar Vučić, has emphasized that for Belgrade this attack is not terrorist, but is being investigated.
The international community has strongly condemned the attack in Banjska and demanded an investigation and that those responsible be brought to justice.
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