The Basic Court in Prishtina has issued an acquittal verdict against Gavrilo Milosavljević, who was accused of war crimes. In this case, Gavrilo Milosavljević, in his capacity as a prison guard at Dubrava Prison, was accused of war crimes against the civilian population.
The verdict was announced on Monday by Judge Vesel Ismaili, who stated that it was not proven that the accused committed the criminal offense for which he was charged.
Details of the Acquittal and Accusations
Furthermore, the detention measure for the accused Milosavljević was terminated. The costs of the procedure will be borne by the court. Meanwhile, the victims are directed to a civil dispute for the realization of their property-legal claims.
According to the indictment filed on November 29, 2023, Gavrilo Milosavljević, in his capacity as an official at Dubrava Prison, in co-perpetration with other individuals, had applied repressive measures of killing, beating, mistreatment, torture, cruel and inhumane treatment against Albanian civilian prisoners.
The indictment further stated that, in co-perpetration with Serbian police units, Milosavljević had carried out the mass killing of Albanian prisoners. On the day of the incident, they had ordered 1,000 prisoners to gather in the prison yard at a place called “Sports Field,” under the pretext that they would count the prisoners and transfer them to a safer location to protect them from NATO bombings.
The indictment further detailed that immediately after the prisoners were lined up, Serbian military personnel fired at the prisoners with machine guns, mortars, and other weapons. This killing operation, which began on May 22, 1999, and lasted until May 24, 1999, resulted in the deaths of 109 prisoners.
The indictment also mentioned that the accused Milosavljević, in co-perpetration with other Serbian military officials, had gone almost daily through the pavilions of Dubrava Prison, specifically in pavilions “B” and “C,” cruelly and inhumanely beating Albanian civilian prisoners. The indictment specified an incident where several guards went to the cell where Ukshin Hoti, Gani Baliu, Skender Gashi, Mehmet Memqaj, and Shkelqim Zllanoga were held. They first turned off the lights and then addressed Ukshin Hoti with the words, “Professor, because of your troubles, NATO bombings are happening to us,” insulting and cursing him throughout. At one point, it was stated that the guards grabbed Shkelqim Zllanoga by the throat, almost stopping his breathing.
For these actions, the accused Milosavljević was charged with the criminal offense of “War crime against the civilian population,” sanctioned by Article 142 in conjunction with Article 22 of the Criminal Law of the former Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (hereinafter “CL of SFRY”) as the law in force at the time of the commission of the criminal offense.
