Prishtina – The Basic Court in Prishtina has sentenced Zhivojin Nesiq to 15 years in prison for war crimes against the civilian population in Kosovo, specifically for committing sexual violence during the war.
The verdict was announced on Tuesday by Judge Violeta Namani-Hajra, who stated that Nesiq was found guilty of committing the crime in co-perpetration with unknown members of Serbian forces, as reported by Betimi për Drejtësi.
The court ruled that time served in pre-trial detention since March 5, 2024, would count toward the sentence. The judge also extended Nesiq’s detention until the verdict becomes final.
The court emphasized that the victim had identified Nesiq on multiple occasions, including before the Commission for Investigating War Crimes, in a police identification procedure, and again in court and before the prosecutor.
“The victim’s testimony is supported by the eyewitness accounts of A.A., H.A., and H.H. Based on these, the Court confirmed that Zhivojin Nesiq used physical and psychological violence and inhumane acts to commit sexual assault against an ethnic Albanian woman. Through these illegal acts, he committed the criminal offense for which he has now been found guilty and sentenced according to the law,” stated Judge Namani-Hajra.
The court clarified that the verdict can be appealed within 30 days once it is officially delivered to the involved parties.
The indictment, filed by the Special Prosecution of the Republic of Kosovo (SPRK) on August 26, 2024, charged Nesiq with “War crimes against the civilian population” under Article 142 in conjunction with Article 22 of the former Yugoslav Criminal Code, currently criminalized as “Crimes against humanity” under Kosovo’s Penal Code.
