The Basic Court in Prishtina has found Sërgjan Lazoviq guilty of war crimes against the civilian population and sentenced him to 12 years and 6 months of imprisonment, following the conclusion of the main trial on February 3, 2026, reports Rks News.
The verdict was announced by the presiding judge, Vesel Ismajli, who stated that the defendant was convicted of the criminal offense of war crimes against civilians.
“Today, on February 3, 2026, in the name of the people, the trial panel delivers this verdict: the defendant, Sërgjan Lazoviq, is found guilty because during the war in Kosovo he carried out unlawful arrests and deprivation of liberty, physical and psychological abuse, and the looting of movable and immovable property belonging to the Albanian community, who were not involved in the conflict. He arrested, detained, tortured, and physically and psychologically abused approximately 500 civilian citizens. For these actions, the defendant is sentenced to imprisonment for a duration of 12 years and 6 months,” the judge stated.
The Special Prosecution of the Republic of Kosovo (SPRK) filed the indictment against Sërgjan Lazoviq on November 19, 2024, for war crimes committed during the period 1998–1999 in the village of Panorc, Municipality of Malisheva.
According to the indictment, Lazoviq, acting in co-perpetration with other yet unidentified individuals, violated the rules of international humanitarian law by carrying out unlawful arrests, illegal deprivation of liberty, and physical and psychological abuse of the Albanian civilian population.
The indictment details the methods and circumstances of the mistreatment and arrests of Albanian civilians who were not involved in the war.
It states that between September 3 and September 5, 1998, in the village of Panorc, Municipality of Malisheva, Lazoviq, intentionally armed and in uniform, acting together with members of Serbian police and military forces, with the aim of intimidation, mass displacement, and ethnic cleansing of the Albanian population, arrested, detained, tortured, and physically and psychologically abused approximately 500 Albanian male civilians.
According to the indictment, residents of villages in Malisheva and Klina, together with their families, were forced to flee their homes toward the mountainous areas of Panorc. Upon reaching the village, the civilian population encountered a Serbian police checkpoint, where the area was surrounded. The forces reportedly separated men from women and children, ordered the latter to leave, and arrested approximately 500 Albanian men, transporting them to the village school, during which they were beaten and abused, including the victim Ahmet Zenuni.
