At Thursday’s hearing, the basic Court in Pristina has again pleaded not guilty to war crimes, Sladan Trajkovic.
Since there were changes in the trial panel, the accused Trajkovic was asked again about his guilt for which he pleaded not guilty, while the indictment, since it has been read before, was considered read, reports “oath for Justice”.Trajkovic’s defence counsel, lawyer Dejan Vasic, in his opening speech asked the trial panel to change the detention measure and replace it with a lighter measure.
According to him, the court has given no other justification as to why his defense is being continued in detention other than the justification that the same has two Citizenship, and that there is a risk of escape.
His defence was also supported by the defendant Trajkovic.
” I do not intend to leave Kosovo, I have nothing in Serbia, everything that I have, what is worth to me spiritually and materially is here in Kosovo, ” Trajkovic said.
Further, the opening speech of the special prosecutor, Florie Shamolli, was heard in this session, which stated that from the evidence received and the statements heard the accused will be found guilty for the offense charged to him.
She also requested the court to consider the witnesses ‘ testimonies to be read, Due to the economics of the proceedings and the elimination of its delay.
The chairman of the trial panel, Judge Ngadhnjim Arrni, made a decision through which he approved prosecutor Shamolli’s request that witness testimonies be considered read, while regarding the defense request that the defendant be terminated the detention measure announced that the trial panel will decide outside the hearing and for the same request will issue a decision in written form.
Due to the lack of the presence of unheard witnesses, the hearing was interrupted to continue on another date.
On July 12, 2023, the special prosecution of the Republic of Kosovo (SPRK) filed an indictment against Sladan Trajkovic, who is accused of war crimes against the civilian population.
According to the indictment, Trajkovic is accused that during the war in Kosovo, in the period 1998-1999 in the village of Reznik, Municipality of Vushtrri and in the villages around this municipality, individually and in co-operation with other persons, he contributed to murders, raids, beatings, maltreatment, arrests, torture, inhuman treatment, holding in conditions of slavery, deportation and deportation of thousands of Albanian civilians as well as measures of looting, burning and destruction of houses of the Albanian civilian population that did not directly participate in the conflict.
With these actions, Trajkovic is accused of committing the criminal offense” war crimes against the civilian population”, foreseen and punishable under Articles 142 and 22 of the Criminal Law of the former Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, currently incriminated as crimes against humanity under Article 143, paragraph 1, subparagraph 1.4, 1.6 and 1.7 related to Article 31 of the Criminal Code of the Republic of Kosovo.
