On August 15, 2025, the Special Prosecutor’s Office of the Republic of Kosovo filed an indictment in absentia against 21 individuals for their roles in the expulsion of over 800,000 Albanians during the 1999 Kosovo War.
The “Betimi për Drejtësi” platform published the indictment, naming the accused as: Zlatomir Pešić, Mladen Cirković, Radomir Marković, Duško Adamović, Obrad Stevanović, Živko Trajković, Goran Radosavljević, Bogoljub Janićević, Slavisha Ivanović, Boško Vukićević, Sreten Popović, Nikola Petrović, Krsman Jelić, Ljubiša Stojimirović, Božidar Delić, Radojko Stefanović, Dragan Živanović, Milosh Doshan, Ljubinko Cvetić, Božidar Filić, and Milovan Kovačević.
Positions of the Accused
- Zlatomir Pešić – Commander of the Prishtina Military District
- Mladen Cirković – Commander of the 15th Armored Brigade of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia Army in the Prishtina region
- Radomir Marković – Chief of the State Security Division (RDB) within the Ministry of Internal Affairs (MUP)
- Duško Adamović – Assistant to the Chief of Police Administration, MUP
- Obrad Stevanović – Head of the Special Police Units Administration, MUP Kosovo
- Živko Trajković – Commander of Anti-Terror Special Units
- Goran Radosavljević – Commander of Counter-Terrorism Units within Special Police Units and the Operational Pursuit Groups of MUP
Other accused held positions including heads of regional police stations (SUP) and commanders of various military brigades of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, responsible for regions such as Prizren, Gjakova, Gjilan, Ferizaj, Mitrovica, and Prishtina.
Charges Against the Accused
The Special Prosecutor’s Office alleges that between January and June 1999, during the armed conflict in Kosovo, the accused exercised effective authority and control over the forces under their command in their respective regions.
The indictment states that the accused were aware that under their control, acts were carried out including: destruction of property, burning of houses and civilian infrastructure, arbitrary arrests and persecution of civilians on ethnic grounds, and armed attacks against villages and towns inhabited by Albanian civilians, aimed at forcibly displacing them.
These actions allegedly resulted in the forced displacement of 862,979 Albanian civilians to Albania and Macedonia.
The indictment further asserts that the accused failed to take necessary and reasonable measures within their competence to prevent these acts, punish the perpetrators, or report these actions as illegal. According to the Special Prosecutor’s Office, these actions constitute violations of the laws of war, including:
- Article 3 common to the four Geneva Conventions
- Articles 50, 51, 86, 87 of Protocol I
- Articles 13, 14, 17 of Protocol II
Therefore, the 21 accused are charged with “War Crimes Against the Civilian Population” under Article 142 of the Criminal Code of the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia.
Number of Victims by Region
The indictment lists the number of victims per region as follows:
- Prishtina: 46
- Mitrovica: 10
- Peja: 12
- Prizren: 10
- Ferizaj: 9
- Gjilan: 10
- Gjakova: 10
This indictment was submitted for trial in absentia, as the accused could not be present during the investigation phase.
On August 15, 2025, the Special Prosecutor’s Office announced the indictment in a press conference held by Chief Prosecutor Blerim Isufaj and Special Prosecutor Atdhe Dema.
