In the trial for war crimes against Milorad Gjokovic, the witness Ferat Morina, on Friday confessed to the murder of E.M. (his brothers) and A.G., (his former teachers), by Serbian paramilitaries during 1999.
“The first Christmas are at Krasniqt, then I looked at the shpija, I saw my brother E.M., with A.G., they ran in the direction of the shpija where I was, but the christs that started E.M., fell first, A.G., fell second. It’s been two days since they died”, declared Morina.
On the critical day on May 7, 1999, when his brother was killed, the witness says he saw the accused Djokovic and two other Serbian paramilitaries on their lands.
Witness Morina said that he had known the accused even before the war, but that he had no contact with him. The defender of the accused Milorad Gjokovic, lawyer Dejan Vasiq, had objections regarding the statement of the witness Morina, since according to him, the witness was consulting documents all the time.
“In the sense that the witness uses ready-made materials during the testimony, he must hand them over to the court and the defense. The impression is created that the witness is prepared by the Prosecution and that his statement goes in favor of the Prosecution and not in favor of the truth”, said lawyer Vasiq, “Oath of Justice” reports.
Later, the chairman of the judging body, Valon Kurtaj, requested the witness Morina to provide the documents for identification and to be recorded in the minutes.
On the other hand, when the defense (Dejan Vasiq and Vasilije Arsiq) started questioning the witness Morina, they requested that today’s session be interrupted because they needed to prepare for the documents of the case, which the witness submitted to the court today.
This request was not opposed by the prosecutor Ilir Morina, while it was approved by the judge Kurtaj.
In today’s session, it was planned to hear two other witnesses, Halit Gashi and Albina Krasniqi. According to the indictment prepared on June 23, 2023, Millorad Gjokoviq is accused of applying measures of murder, raid, beating, mistreatment, arrest, torture, inhumane and degrading treatment, slavery, deportation, and expulsion of dozens of Albanian civilians in the years 1998-1999, in the village of Ozdrim – Municipality of Peja and in the surrounding villages of the Peja region, as a member of the Serbian police and military forces. He is also accused of looting, burning, and destroying the houses of the civilian population of Albanian nationality.
The indictment states that from the northern part of the village of Ozdrim, through the regional road Peja – Mitrovica, regular army forces entered, and at the end, from the western part of the village of Ozdrim, which borders the village of Vitomirica, paramilitary groups mixed with members of special military units entered and started shooting at the civilian population, resulting in the killing of six Albanian civilians: I.K, Sh.K, E.M, R.Sh, Z.Sh, and M.H, while three civilians who were injured by these shots: A.G, H.G, and M.G, were initially transported to the hospital in Peja and then executed and buried in the village.
In this case, Gjokoviq is charged with having committed the criminal offense of “War Crime against Civilian Population” in complicity, sanctioned under Article 142 in connection with Article 22 of the Penal Code of the former Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (hereinafter “PC of SFRY”) as the law in force at the time of the commission of the criminal offense.
