The Basic Court in Pristina has found Muhamet Alidemaj guilty of war crimes against the civilian population and sentenced him to 13 years in prison, following the conclusion of the trial on February 2, 2026.
The verdict was delivered by the presiding judge, Vesl Ismaili, who confirmed that Alidemaj committed crimes against civilians during the armed conflict in Kosovo in 1999.
Background:
- Alidemaj initially pleaded not guilty in the first trial on April 29, 2022, and repeated his plea during the retrial on October 23, 2025.
- The Basic Court had previously convicted him on July 12, 2024, sentencing him to 15 years for war crimes committed in Izbica, while one part of the indictment regarding the exhumation of bodies was dismissed. The Appeals Court later ordered a retrial.
Charges:
According to the indictment filed on March 29, 2022:
- Between March 24 and June 11, 1999, as a member of Serbian police and military forces, Alidemaj and other personnel forcibly separated women and children and moved them toward Albania.
- Remaining men were executed with automatic weapons, resulting in 130 deaths (114 identified, 12 survived).
- The bodies were later exhumed and transported to unknown locations, eventually found in mass graves in Batajnica (Serbia), Suhodoll (Mitrovica), and Novolan (Vushtrri).
The court concluded that Alidemaj participated in the crimes against civilians, in violation of the former Criminal Code of the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (Article 142 in connection with Article 22) and currently under Kosovo’s Penal Code (Article 146 in connection with Article 31), aligned with grave breaches of the Geneva Conventions.
