Časlav Jolić has been sentenced to five years and six months in prison by the Basic Court in Prishtina on charges of war crimes. The sentence includes time served in pretrial detention, starting from June 2, 2022.
The court also ruled that Jolić remains in detention until the verdict becomes final, but not beyond the total sentence length.
Jolić was not present during the verdict announcement, nor was the case prosecutor Ilir Morina.
“This court finds the defendant Časlav Jolić guilty of point (a) of the indictment, for the criminal offense of ‘war crimes against the civilian population,’ under Article 142 in connection with Article 22 of the applicable law at the time of the offense, and sentences him to five years and six months of imprisonment,” said Judge Ngadhnjim Arrni.
“For points (b) and (c), the court found insufficient evidence to prove Jolić’s involvement,” the judge added.
This verdict was delivered by a panel composed of Judge Ngadhnjim Arrni (presiding) and judges Arben Hoti and Lutfi Shala.
Unhappy parties have the right to appeal the decision to the Court of Appeals within 30 days via the same court.
On May 20, 2025, final statements were given in the case.
Notably, on June 10, 2024, Časlav Jolić had been sentenced by the same court to eight years in prison under the Penal Code of the former SFRY, but the Court of Appeals ordered a retrial.
Even during the retrial held on February 5, 2025, Jolić denied all charges.
What does the prosecution file say about Časlav Jolić?
According to the Kosovo Special Prosecution file, in 1998, in the Bllagaq neighborhood of Gurakoc village, a Serbian military helicopter crashed. Victim Z.M., accompanied by two journalists (one British, one Belgian) and an Albanian translator, was escorting them to the crash site.
Upon arrival, five individuals in Serbian police uniforms, including Časlav Jolić, emerged from the house of Rosa Pejočinović. They accused Z.M. of bringing journalists to the scene, then physically assaulted him in front of the journalists, hitting him with fists and kicks for 20 minutes until he lost consciousness after being struck with brass knuckles by a person nicknamed “Dule,” leaving him with serious injuries.
On March 15, 1998, victim N.F. was attacked while having coffee in the “Shija” restaurant in Gurakoc. He was dragged out by five Serbian police officers, beaten across his body, and struck in the head multiple times with a rifle butt by officer Rade Pitulić, causing heavy bleeding. He was then dragged to the Gurakoc Police Station, where he was told he would be executed.
On March 28, 1998, the same victim was reportedly forced to flee his home, as were all other residents of the village.
