The Basic Court in Pristina has once again sentenced Duško Arsić to 13 years in prison for war crimes against civilians, following a retrial of the case.
The trial panel confirmed that the time Arsić has already spent in detention will be counted toward his sentence. In the initial trial on February 2, 2024, he was also found guilty and received the same sentence, but the case was later returned for retrial by the Court of Appeals of Kosovo.
Serbian List Condemns the Verdict
The Serbian List, the main political party representing Serbs in Kosovo with backing from Belgrade, strongly criticized the verdict, claiming it reflects what it described as an unfair and ethnically motivated approach within the justice system in Prishtina.
Earlier, Arsić’s lawyer argued that his client was prosecuted because he attempted to reclaim property in the Prishtina area and return to Kosovo. The party also claimed that there was insufficient evidence to prove his guilt.
What the Indictment Says
According to the indictment, Arsić was arrested on December 8, 2021, on suspicion of crimes committed between January and June 1999 in the Prishtina region. The charges were formally filed in November 2022.
Prosecutors allege that he participated in the killing of a civilian on April 20, 1999, in Butovc, and physically and psychologically abused a 15-year-old victim. He is also accused of taking part in the forced displacement of civilians, looting property, and burning homes belonging to Kosovo Albanians, alongside Serbian police and paramilitary groups.
Ongoing War Crimes Prosecutions
In recent years, the Special Prosecution of the Republic of Kosovo has filed several indictments related to war crimes committed during the 1998–1999 conflict. Since the end of the war, dozens of individuals have been convicted by domestic and international courts.
Initially, investigations into war crimes in Kosovo were conducted by the United Nations Interim Administration Mission in Kosovo, and later by the European Union Rule of Law Mission in Kosovo, which transferred remaining cases to local institutions in 2018.
More than 13,000 civilians were killed during the Kosovo war, and over 1,500 people remain missing, most of them ethnic Albanians.
