At Thursday’s hearing at the Basic Court in Prishtina, during the retrial of war crimes defendant Dushko Arsiq, witnesses Gani Krasniqi and Arsim Maqedonci were heard. Witness Krasniqi testified that Arsiq had abused his son, forcing him to carry a killed person on his back.
Krasniqi was the first to testify before the trial panel. He said his son had been abused by the now-accused Arsiq, whose name he learned only after the incident, reports Betimi për Drejtësi.
“I went out and saw the yard gate open. I saw my son come in covered in blood, barely able to walk. He had blood around his eyes and on his chest,” Krasniqi said.
While recounting the conversation with his son, Krasniqi stated that his son had been forced to carry the body of the victim B.Sh. on his back, while being beaten along the way. According to him, those present were Dragani, Bobani, and Dushko.
“I asked him who did this to you, what happened? He said that at Smajli’s house, Dushko Arsiq beat him and also killed a young man who was passing by. They loaded him onto my son’s back and, while kicking and beating him, took him to Smajli’s field, near the fence where there is an old road. He told me that the greatest pain he felt was when he stood up with that young man’s body on his back. I will never forget this,” Krasniqi testified.
Afterwards, witness Maqedonci was heard, stating that he stands by the testimony he had previously given.
According to the court’s schedule, witness Arsim Krasniqi was next to testify, but the presiding judge, Vesel Ismaili, noted that the witness had not properly received the summons.
On February 2, 2024, the Basic Court in Prishtina sentenced Arsiq to 13 years in prison. However, the Court of Appeal returned the case for retrial.
According to the indictment filed by the Special Prosecution on November 2, 2022, there is grounded suspicion that Arsiq, in co-perpetration with other members of the Serbian police and paramilitary groups, between January and June 1999, participated in the expulsion and displacement of citizens from Prishtina and surrounding areas. The indictment alleges that Arsiq and others engaged in looting homes and later, with the intent to damage Albanian property, set them on fire.
The indictment also holds Arsiq responsible for the mistreatment of Albanian civilians, wounding, and killings.
Arsiq is accused of participating in the execution of the late B.Sh. on April 20, 1999, in the village of Butovc, Municipality of Prishtina, at a place known as “the Maqedonci cemetery.” According to the indictment, while the victim was walking, he was shot with an automatic rifle, and after being hit, the injured A.K., who was 15 years old at the time, was ordered to carry the victim’s body on his back, despite having significant physical injuries due to prior physical and psychological abuse by the accused. These acts are sanctioned under domestic law, the customs of war, and the Geneva Conventions and their Additional Protocols.
With this, Arsiq is charged with the criminal offense of “War Crimes Against the Civilian Population” under Article 142 in conjunction with Article 22 of the Criminal Law of the SFRY.
