KFOR on the Sentences of Attackers during Protests in the North: We Have Considered Court Decisions.
After three months, Nenad Orlović will be a free man, but many KFOR soldiers who were his victims will bear the consequences of “Rusi’s” actions for a long time, some even throughout their lives.
The Serb, who was recently sentenced to just 15 months in prison, including time served in pre-trial detention, has only a few months left to serve, and may also clear the 12,000 euro fine.
Regarding the severity of the final sentence, Dukagjini has also directed questions to KFOR, but they have not commented, stating that they have considered the decisions, including past ones.
“Our stance has been clear and consistent throughout. The attacks on May 29th against KFOR troops and the violent attack on September 24th in northern Kosovo in 2023 were unacceptable, and those responsible for these acts of violence must be held accountable,” said the KFOR response.
After the violence, NATO deployed around 1,000 additional peacekeepers and heavier armored forces in Kosovo. This has been the largest reinforcement of our contingent in Kosovo in a decade, demonstrating NATO’s readiness to continue to maintain a safe and secure environment for the benefit of all people living in Kosovo, in accordance with our UN Security Council mandate 1244. We have considered the current judgments of the Court in Pristina. For any further comments, I refer you to the Institutions in Kosovo.”
However, legal experts do not hesitate to say that the sentence should have been harsher.
“Considering the circumstances of what happened in the north, which has been almost permanently tense and essentially caused and maintained tension by the same people, I believe that the punishments should have been more rigorous, perhaps departing from practices that would be considered in other normal circumstances,” said Fejzullah Hasani, former President of the Supreme Court.
Hasani further adds that the final decision, as well as the verdicts for other defendants, have been influenced by political circumstances and international factors, which he believes should not have happened.
“These sentences have been somewhat influenced by politics because you know there have been strong reactions from international mechanisms as to why you are arresting, why there has been no agreement with us, and the arrests were unnecessary. For me, they also made a kind of political compromise, in the sense that they have been declared guilty and sentenced as much as the law allows, and against the international factor, they could argue for the sentences they have pronounced,” added Hasani.
All three sentenced for the attacks of May 29th in Zvečan, where over 30 KFOR members were injured by gunfire and heavy equipment, reached agreements with the special prosecutor, admitting guilt.
According to former Deputy Minister of Internal Affairs Valdet Hoxha, this circumstance affects the reduction of the sentence.
“Often, the accused or suspects use, offering their willingness to enter into an agreement with the state prosecutor. If such an agreement exists, the court may accept it if the agreement is reached based on clear criteria set out in the criminal procedure code, and naturally the accused would act in his favor,” said Valdet Hoxha, former Deputy Minister of Internal Affairs.
Arrests of some participants in violent protests in Zvečan were mainly carried out last year.
In addition to Orlović, who was sentenced to 15 months in prison and a 12,000 euro fine, Radosh Petrović and Dušan Obrenović were also sentenced to six months in prison, a sentence that was replaced with a fine.
But dozens of suspects involved in violent acts at the end of May are still at large, and arrests have continued this year, with the latest incident occurring in Jarinje, where a young Serb was arrested.
