The EU Office in Kosovo has received three letters related to the terrorist attack on September 24 in Banjska, Zvečan. Kosovo has requested the extradition of the Serbian terrorist leader, Milan Radoičić, while Serbia is demanding full documentation regarding the case.
In early July, a letter arrived at the EU office in Kosovo from Serbia, requesting full documentation on the September 24 attack in Banjska, Zveçan. This came after the Public Prosecutor’s Office in Belgrade warned of an impending indictment against Radoičić.
“At the beginning of July, the EU Office in Kosovo received a letter from the Serbian Ministry of Justice, which sent a request for mutual legal assistance from the High Public Prosecutor’s Office in Belgrade regarding the Banjska case. Based on its mandate, the EU Office in Kosovo forwarded this request to the authorities in Kosovo and then relayed the corresponding correspondence from Kosovo authorities to Serbian authorities,” stated the EU Office in Kosovo.
Shortly thereafter, the EU office received a second request from Kosovo for mutual legal assistance with the authorities of Bosnia and Herzegovina. This request is believed to concern the weapons used in the terrorist attack in Banjska, as Kosovo authorities stated that the weapons used to attack the Kosovo Police were supplied from the city of Tuzla in Bosnia and Herzegovina.
“EU representatives in Kosovo also received a request for mutual legal assistance from Kosovo authorities to the authorities of Bosnia and Herzegovina regarding the Banjska case. The request was sent to Sarajevo, and a response has already been received. The response has been timely forwarded to the competent authorities in Kosovo,” said the EU Office in Kosovo.
Bosnian authorities confirmed that the Federal Police Administration is verifying this information.
These two letters were not the final ones sent to the EU office in Pristina regarding this case. In October, Kosovo requested the extradition of Milan Radoičić, the organizer of the Banjska attack.
“Furthermore, representatives of the EU Office in Kosovo sent a request for mutual legal assistance from Kosovo authorities to Serbian authorities in October of last year for the same issue. No response has been received from Serbian authorities. We expect Serbia to fully cooperate with these requests through the established mutual legal assistance channel. The purpose of this mechanism is to ensure judicial cooperation between Kosovo and countries that do not recognize it, including Serbia, and to facilitate access to justice for all, regardless of their nationality or residence,” the EU Office in Kosovo stated to Tëvë1.
Meanwhile, Kosovo’s Minister of Justice, Albulena Haxhiu, has recently confirmed that this request from Serbia will be officially rejected.
