The Court in Pristina again sentenced Lutvija to ten years in prison

The Basic Court in Pristina today sentenced Sacir Lutvija to ten years in prison in a retrial.

As the trial panel stated, Lutvija was found guilty of the criminal offense of war crimes against the civilian population.

The time he spent in detention has been credited toward his sentence.

Both sides have the right to appeal this verdict within 15 days.

On November 11 last year, the Basic Court in Pristina initially sentenced former member of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Serbia Sacir Lutvija to ten years in prison for the criminal offense of war crimes against the civilian population.

The Court of Appeals overturned that verdict on June 23 and returned the case for a retrial, explaining that the first-instance decision contained substantial violations of criminal procedure and insufficient reasoning regarding key facts.

Sacir Lutvija has been in detention since October 2023, and the indictment accuses him of violating international law and committing war crimes against the civilian population in Prizren between 1998 and 1999.