Two Kosovo Serbs have been sentenced to prison over their participation in the barricades erected in northern Kosovo in December 2022, following plea agreements with the prosecution.
The Basic Court in Prishtina sentenced one defendant, identified by the initials M.R., to nine months in prison and another, D.D., to one year in prison.
The two were convicted in connection with the barricades that blocked roads in northern Kosovo between December 10 and 29, 2022.
According to the indictment, six defendants were accused of acting together and using force and violence to obstruct Kosovo institutions from carrying out their duties and establishing constitutional order in the northern municipalities.
The defendants were accused of blocking major roads with heavy vehicles, including trucks loaded with gravel, excavators, ambulances, buses and other vehicles.
Defense Challenges Prison Sentences
The lawyer representing M.R., Mahmut Haljimi, criticized the court’s decision, arguing that the sentences exceeded the punishment expected under the plea agreement reached with the prosecution.
According to Haljimi, the defense and prosecution had agreed that the defendants would receive six-month prison sentences that could be converted into fines.
“The court could have rejected the agreement, but it could not impose a harsher sentence than the one covered by the agreement,” Haljimi said after the hearing.
He described the decision as unlawful and said the defense would pursue appeals.
“Now there is the second instance, and then the third instance if necessary, and I believe they will correct the mistake made today,” Haljimi said.
Haljimi also argued that the sentences were excessively severe given that the defendants had admitted guilt.
Charges Related to Constitutional Order and Obstruction of Officials
M.R. was convicted of association for anti-constitutional activities aimed at attacking Kosovo’s constitutional order.
D.D. was sentenced to one year in prison after being convicted of the same offense, as well as obstructing an official in the performance of official duties.
The prosecution had filed an indictment against six people in June, accusing them of association for anti-constitutional activities and obstruction of officials.
The remaining defendants are identified by the initials D.M., N.J., N.O. and S.V.
The proceedings against M.R. and D.D. were separated from the trial involving the other defendants. A new hearing in the remaining case has been scheduled for September 15 after one of the defendants was absent from the latest hearing.
The case is linked to the tense situation in northern Kosovo in December 2022, when local Serbs erected barricades on several major roads amid heightened political and security tensions between Kosovo authorities and the Serb community.
