The killing of six young Serbs at the “Panda” café in Peja, Kosovo, on December 14, 1998, has returned to the spotlight following new claims regarding the possible perpetrators of the crime.
However, the victims’ families say they no longer believe in speculation and are demanding only official evidence from justice institutions.
The lawyer representing the victims’ families, Ivan Ninić, has submitted a request to Serbia’s Public Prosecutor’s Office for Organized Crime to question Radomir Boban Bačević, after his name was mentioned by Miloš Medenica – a fugitive convicted criminal from Montenegro – as the alleged direct perpetrator of the shooting at the “Panda” café.
Zvonko Gvozdenović, the father of Vukota Gvozdenović, who was killed at the age of 16, told the Serbian portal Nova that the families no longer want to hear unsupported claims.
“I do not know whether Medenica is telling the truth or not. Someone from the Prosecutor’s Office must investigate this and determine whether there is any basis for these claims. Unfortunately, this is not the first time someone has used the deaths of our children,” he said.
According to Gvozdenović, many names have been mentioned over the years as possible perpetrators of the massacre, but no evidence has ever been presented that would lead to the resolution of the case.
“We only want evidence and the names of those who carried out the shooting, as well as those who ordered the crime. Not names circulating through rumors, but names that will be confirmed by the Prosecutor’s Office,” he stated.
He also criticized Serbian institutions for the lack of progress in the investigation, emphasizing that more than a decade has passed without concrete results.
The “Panda” Café Massacre
On December 14, 1998, armed individuals opened fire with automatic weapons inside the “Panda” café in Peja, where a group of young Serbs had gathered.
The attack killed Ivan Obradović (15), Vukota Gvozdenović (16), Zoran Stanojević, Svetislav Ristić (17), Dragan Trifunović (17), and Ivan Radević (25).
Vladimir Lončarević and café owner Mirsad Shabović were also seriously wounded, while Nikola Rajović suffered minor injuries.
The killing of the six young Serbs occurred at a time when ethnic tensions in Kosovo were extremely high and the war between Serbian forces and the Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA/UÇK) had already begun.
The “Panda” killings were initially portrayed as a revenge attack and resulted in the arrest of several Albanians in Peja.
However, all those arrested were later acquitted by a court in Belgrade after 12 months due to a lack of evidence.
In 2013, Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić publicly suggested that the crime “may not have been committed by Albanians,” challenging the narrative that had been promoted for years.
The Serbian Prosecutor’s Office opened an investigation into the case in 2016, but no final results have been announced to date.
The victims’ families continue to demand the truth, evidence, and accountability for those responsible for the killing of the six young people.
