Court in Pristina sentenced Dragisa Milenkovic to seven years in prison

The Basic Court in Pristina has sentenced Dragisa Milenkovic to seven years in prison for the criminal offense of war crimes. The time he has spent in detention will be counted toward his sentence.

While reading the verdict, the panel of judges emphasized that Milenkovic was sentenced to seven years in prison for the war crime offense. For the offense of unauthorized possession of weapons, he was fined 1,500 euros.

The defense has the right to appeal the decision to the Court of Appeals.

Dragisa Milenkovic was arrested on June 21, 2023, at his family home in Kisnica, near Gracanica.

The Special Prosecutor’s Office filed an indictment against Milenkovic on December 26, 2023. It stated that, as a prison guard during the conflict in Kosovo in 1998 and 1999, at the Pristina prison, Lipjan branch, in his capacity as an official and in collaboration with other officials, he systematically mistreated Albanian prisoners, torturing them in an inhumane manner, in violation of international laws of war.

Defense attorneys requested acquittal

In their closing statements, the defense attorneys argued that there was not a single piece of evidence incriminating Milenkovic. Attorney Jovana Filipovic stated that the evidence submitted by the defense had been declared invalid for what she described as political, rather than legal, reasons.

Attorney Dejan Vasic pointed out inconsistencies in the witnesses’ statements and questioned how it was possible for witnesses to recognize Dragisa only after 25 years, and how no witnesses had come forward before his arrest.

Attorney Zivojin Jokanovic added that Milenkovic had been a prison guard, not a participant in the war, and therefore could not be held accountable for war crimes.

Dragisa Milenkovic himself stated that both the witnesses and their families knew they had not been mistreated in prison.

“They know very well they were not mistreated in prison. There were many cameras, and for 25 years, their lawyers have had nothing against me,” Milenkovic said.

Von Cramon: This doesn't look like the rule of law

The case of Dragisa Milenkovic was also addressed by Viola von Cramon, the European Parliament’s Special Rapporteur for Kosovo, during her visit to Kosovo in January 2024. She stated that, in one respect, she “blamed the Kosovo government for interfering in certain court cases and would be cautious in commenting further.”

“As I was told, there are not many witnesses in this case. He was held in custody without proper legal procedures, and that is why I brought up the case. What I heard was that he lived in the community for 23 years after the war, and after all that time, without many witnesses, apparently only one witness accusing him of war crimes, that doesn’t look like the rule of law. That is why I brought up the case,” von Cramon said.