The Basic Court in Pristina, specifically the Special Department, has not yet made a decision regarding the trial in absentia for 42 defendants charged with the terrorist attack in Banjska, Zvecan, where officer Afrim Bunjaku was killed. This was confirmed by the Basic Court in Pristina to RTK. Meanwhile, the judicial review session in the criminal case against the three defendants who are in custody will take place on April 17th.
Vladimir Toliq, Blagoje Spasojeviq, and Dushan Maksimoviq, who are accused of the terrorist attack in Banjska, Zvecan, and are in detention, are expected to appear before the court in Kosovo on Thursday, April 17th.
However, the trial will not include the other 42 defendants charged with the attack, including the main criminal Milan Radojcic. At the initial hearing, the prosecutor of the case, Naim Abazi, had requested a trial in absentia.
However, the Supreme Court left the decision to the discretion of the first-instance court to decide whether to proceed with a trial in absentia or not. The first-instance court has not yet made a decision, said Mirlinda Shala, spokesperson for the Basic Court in Pristina, to RTK.
“In reference to your request for information, we inform you that the judicial review session in the criminal case against the defendants V.T., B.S., and D.M. is scheduled to take place on April 17, 2025, at 09:30. Regarding the case of the other defendants, for whom the case was separated and for whom there was a proposal for a trial in absentia, we inform you that no decision has yet been made by the Special Department of the Basic Court in Pristina,” said Mirlinda Gashi, spokesperson for the Basic Court in Pristina.
The attorney for the Bunjaku family, Arianit Koci, believes that a trial in absentia may take place, but he is asking the court to treat the case seriously, emphasizing that this case is not only about the family of the hero Afrim Bunjaku or the judiciary, but it also concerns national memory and institutional dignity.
“I only ask the court to ensure that the defendants are provided with all the procedural rights they are entitled to by law, so that when the verdict is rendered— and it will certainly be a conviction because the evidence is strong and irrefutable— when the verdict is rendered, it should not allow the defendants’ lawyers to return the verdict for retrial at the Court of Appeals,” he said.
Kosovo authorities have requested the extradition of the leader of the terrorist group, Milan Radojcic, and the other defendants for the terrorist attack in Banjska, Zvecan, but this has not yet occurred. They are on INTERPOL’s wanted list, and international pressure on Serbia to extradite Milan Radojcic and the other criminals to Kosovo’s justice system has also been exerted by international bodies.
