At Tuesday’s hearing at the Basic Court in Prishtina, during the retrial of Muhamet Alidemaj—who is charged with war crimes committed in Izbica in 1999—Prosecutor Ilir Morina, in his closing statement, requested a conviction of the accused, while the defense said it expects an acquittal.
According to the indictment, Alidemaj allegedly participated, together with members of Serbian police and military forces, in the killing of Albanian civilians during the Izbica massacre in March 1999, in which 130 Albanians were killed and massacred, reports Betimi për Drejtësi.
In his closing arguments, Prosecutor Morina said that the evidence presented has proven beyond reasonable doubt that the Izbica massacre is a historical fact and one that has been legally established, including by international courts for the former Yugoslavia.
“On March 28, 1999, 138 Albanian civilians were executed; 140 victims were identified, and 12 people survived the execution. Women and children were expelled toward Albania, and village homes were systematically burned. Video footage, victim lists, and survivor testimonies make this event indisputable,” Morina stated.
He emphasized that the evidence in this case is extensive, consistent, and convincing.
“Justice for the victims of Izbica is not only a legal issue, but a moral and historical obligation,” the prosecutor added.
Accordingly, he requested the Court to convict the accused Alidemaj in accordance with the law and to extend his detention until the verdict becomes final.
Meanwhile, the representative of the Office for the Protection of Victims, Veton Rudaku, stated that surviving witnesses of the massacre, during their testimonies, identified the accused as a person they saw on March 28, 1999, in the village of Izbica, leading Serbian forces.
Rudaku therefore proposed that the Court issue a guilty verdict and impose an appropriate sentence on Alidemaj.
In contrast, the defense counsel for the accused, attorney Miloš Delević, said that no witness has stated that his client killed anyone, issued orders, burned homes, looted property, or expelled residents. According to him, the Court has only one option: to acquit the accused.
Another defense lawyer, attorney Dejan Vasić, said that there was no evidence at the beginning of the proceedings and that there is still none, adding that he fully supports attorney Delević’s closing arguments.
Finally, the accused Muhamet Alidemaj said that he supports his defense counsel and has nothing further to add. /Betimi për Drejtësi/
