The Basic Court in Prishtina is scheduled to continue proceedings in the trial in absentia of 53 people accused of war crimes in connection with the Meja massacre and killings in other villages of the Gjakova region during the 1998–1999 Kosovo war.
The Special Prosecution of the Republic of Kosovo filed an indictment in absentia against the 53 defendants in December 2023. The indictment was amended on December 23, 2024, while all of the accused remain at large.
The case concerns alleged crimes committed in Meja and other villages in the Gjakova area, where, according to the indictment, more than 370 Albanian civilians were killed. The prosecution alleges that the defendants acted jointly as part of a criminal enterprise and participated in a widespread and systematic attack against the civilian population.
Proceedings Continue After Appeals Court Decision
The Court of Appeals on May 25, 2026, annulled the earlier decision of the Basic Court in Prishtina confirming the indictment and returned the case for reconsideration. The appellate decision followed appeals filed by defense lawyers and concerned, among other issues, the legal requirements for proceedings in the absence of the accused.
The Basic Court subsequently resumed proceedings. At an initial hearing on June 16, 2025, prosecutor Ilir Morina read the indictment, while Judge Violeta Namani-Hajra determined that efforts had been made to secure the defendants’ presence and ruled that the case could proceed in absentia.
A hearing scheduled for September 15, 2026, was postponed after three court-appointed defense lawyers failed to appear. The court scheduled the next hearing for September 25 at 8:30 a.m. None of the 53 defendants was present.
Defendants Include Former Serbian Military and Police Officials
The indictment names former Serbian military, police and security officials among the accused.
They include Momir Stojanović, identified by prosecutors as head of the Security Department of the Pristina Corps; Sreten Čamović, identified as a State Security Department official; Nikola Mićunović, described as a commander of reserve units; Milovan Kovačević, identified as head of the Secretariat of Internal Affairs in Gjakova; and Sergej Perović, identified as head of security in the 52nd Artillery and Air Defence Brigade in the Gjakova garrison.
Other defendants named in the indictment include Veroljub Živković, Milan Kotur, Radomir Čolić, Dragutin Josifović, Franko Simatović, Momčilo Stanojević, Vlatko Vuković and Ilija Todorov, among dozens of others.
The prosecution alleges that the defendants held various command, security and police positions during the war and were involved in operations that resulted in the killing and displacement of civilians.
All allegations remain subject to judicial proceedings, and the defendants have not been convicted in this case.
