Six children. A mother forced to watch her family being torn apart by war. And, more than 27 years later, she is still recounting the horror in a courtroom, waiting for justice.
At the Basic Court in Prishtina today, November 12, 2026, a mother testified in the war crimes case against Zikica Beloseviq and Gruica Beloseviq, both suspected of involvement in crimes against Kosovo’s civilian population. She told the court that six of her children had been killed during the war, reports Drejtësia from RKS News.
Her testimony brought the brutality of March 1999 back into the courtroom. She recalled a 15-year-old girl who had been shot but was still struggling to breathe.
“They had shot her, but she was still breathing. I said to them: ‘Are we going to stay here with her until she takes her last breath?’” she testified.
She also recalled asking her other daughter how she had survived the massacre.
“How did you survive, my child?” she asked. Her daughter’s response was devastating: “They killed so many people.”
Two suspects arrested over the Padalishtë massacre
The case concerns the massacre of March 26, 1999, in Padalishtë, Istog, where Albanian civilians were killed during operations by Serbian forces. Members of the Imeraj family were among the victims.
Zikica Beloseviq, 59, and Gruica Beloseviq, 56, were arrested on October 29, 2026, on suspicion of involvement in war crimes. According to an earlier report by Gazeta Sinjali, investigators submitted a criminal complaint to the Special Prosecution on September 25, 2026, following the collection of witness testimonies and material evidence.
Zikica Beloseviq was arrested in Osojan, Istog. During a search of his property, authorities reportedly found documents linked to his service in the Serbian Army, as well as photographs from the war period.
These are not distant statistics or forgotten pages of history. They are murdered children, shattered families and mothers who have carried unimaginable pain for decades. The passage of time does not erase the crimes, and the suffering of Kosovo’s victims cannot be buried alongside the evidence. Those responsible must face justice.
