The Court of Appeals of Kosovo, through decision APS.nr.19/2026, has approved the appeal filed by the defense attorney of the accused Srdjan Lazović, lawyer Feride Xani, as well as the appeal submitted by Lazović himself.
Acting ex officio, the Appeals Court annulled the verdict of the Basic Court in Pristina – Special Department, case number PS.nr.93/24 dated February 3, 2026, and returned the criminal case for retrial and a new decision.
The Basic Court in Pristina – Special Department had previously found Srdjan Lazović guilty of the criminal offense of war crimes against the civilian population committed jointly, under Article 142 in connection with Article 22 of the Criminal Code of the former Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, and sentenced him to 12 years and 6 months in prison.
After reviewing the appealed judgment and the claims raised by the parties, as well as based on its official authority, the Appeals Court found that the verdict contained essential violations of criminal procedure provisions under Article 384 of the Kosovo Criminal Procedure Code, including failures related to the reasoning of the judgment and the assessment of evidence.
The court determined that these violations also affected the incorrect and incomplete determination of the factual situation under Article 386 of the Criminal Procedure Code.
The Appeals Court assessed that although the first-instance court had examined a significant number of material pieces of evidence during the trial, it had failed to address them in the reasoning of the verdict, had not evaluated their evidentiary value, and had not explained their importance in establishing the facts of the case.
In particular, the court noted that the first-instance judgment did not address the report of the Kosovo Forensic Agency and two reports by foreign experts directly related to the identification of the accused. The court found that no explanation was provided as to whether these findings were accepted or rejected, or on what basis.
