Prishtina, April 24, 2026 – The hearing scheduled for Friday in the war crimes case against defendants Momir Pantiq and Zharko Zariq was postponed at the Basic Court of Pristina due to a procedural error related to the transfer of the accused.
“The order for the transport unit was not sent… this is not a procedural issue in essence, but a technical omission; the order should have been sent by email, but it was not,” stated Judge Donikë Shala Abdyli, as reported by Rks News.
Present in the courtroom were the judicial panel chaired by Judge Donikë Shala Abdyli, state prosecutor Armend Zenelaj, victims’ representative Veton Rudaku, witnesses Enver Lipa and Rahime Lipa, as well as defense lawyers, substitute attorney Jovana Filipović and attorney Miloš Delević.
According to the indictment filed on September 1, 2024 by the Special Prosecution Office of Kosovo (SPRK), former police station chief in Istog Momir Pantiq and former police officer Zharko Zariq are accused of committing the criminal offense of “War crimes against the civilian population” in co-perpetration.
The indictment states that on May 19, 1999, in the village of Dubravë, following NATO airstrikes on Dubravë Prison, the defendants together with Serbian police forces allegedly carried out systematic violence against ethnic Albanian prisoners. The indictment further describes cases of killings, injuries, and sexual violence during that period.
