During the trial of Momir Pantić and Žarko Zarić, both accused of war crimes in Istog, the defense lawyers — Miloš Delević and Dejan Vasić — requested that their clients be released from pretrial detention. However, this motion was opposed by Special Prosecutor Florije Shamolli, reports Betimi për Drejtësi.
Attorney Delević argued that the fact Pantić holds dual citizenship should not serve as a basis for extending his detention, proposing that the court replace it with bail.
Pantić himself claimed that his family — including his sister and uncles — live in Kosovo and that he has never had issues with his Albanian neighbors. He stated that he has always cooperated with the justice system, calling the case against him “politically fabricated.”
He also alleged that during 2002–2003 he cooperated with the Government of Kosovo on issues related to hostage situations.
Meanwhile, attorney Vasić argued that Kosovo’s police could easily monitor less restrictive measures, such as house arrest or bail, and that his client Zarić poses no flight risk, since all witnesses are his neighbors and he would not avoid facing them.
Zarić himself said that his family lives in Kosovo and that he has no reason to evade justice.
However, Prosecutor Shamolli opposed the motion, stating that both defendants pose a flight risk since they also hold Serbian citizenship, and judicial cooperation with Serbia is practically non-existent.
The court said it would decide on the defense motions outside the hearing, which was later adjourned until the following months for the continuation of witness testimonies.
Earlier in the session, the court confirmed a change in the presiding judge, with Judge Donika Shala-Abdyli replacing Judge Valon Kurtaj, and ordered that the trial restart from the beginning.
By agreement of the parties, the previous testimony of witness Nexhmedin Pepaj was read into the record, and all parties maintained their previously given opening statements.
According to the indictment filed on September 1, 2024, by the Special Prosecutor’s Office of the Republic of Kosovo (SPRK), former police station chief in Istog, Momir Pantić, and former policeman Žarko Zarić, are charged with the criminal offense of war crimes against the civilian population, committed in co-perpetration.
The indictment states that on May 19, 1999, in Dubrava village, specifically at the Dubrava Prison, following NATO bombings that killed three Albanian prisoners, Pantić — along with Serbian police forces — entered the prison to “regain control” and then systematically beat and tortured Albanian inmates solely because of their ethnicity.
The NATO bombings continued on May 21, 1999, killing 18 more Albanian prisoners and wounding dozens of others.
The next morning, according to the indictment, guards and armed Serbian prisoners, together with police and special units under the command of the Istog Police Station, gathered the Albanian prisoners in the prison yard and then opened fire with various firearms and threw grenades from behind the prison wall.
Furthermore, the indictment accuses the Serbian police forces under Pantić’s command of kidnapping an Albanian civilian (“A1”), who was sexually assaulted, and another victim (“B1”) who suffered similar abuse. Both defendants are also accused of the killings of several Albanian families in the Municipality of Istog.
