Delevic: Bajrovic retrial conviction legally unsustainable

Attorney Milos Delevic has assessed that the renewed conviction of Ekrem Bajrovic is legally unsustainable, arguing that the deficiencies previously identified by the Supreme Court of Kosovo were not remedied during the retrial.

Speaking on behalf of Bajrovic's defense team, which also includes attorneys Ljubomir Pantovic and Nesrin Ljusta, Delevic stated that after the Supreme Court of Kosovo upheld the defense's request for the protection of legality, quashed the previous conviction, and remanded the case for a retrial, it had been expected that the shortcomings identified by the Court would be addressed in the renewed proceedings.

"However, this did not happen. During the retrial, not a single new piece of evidence was presented, nor did the Special Prosecution undertake any procedural action to remedy the deficiencies identified by the Supreme Court. Despite this, the Basic Court once again delivered a guilty verdict and imposed a sentence of 12 years' imprisonment," Delevic said.

He emphasized that the deficiencies identified by the Supreme Court could not be remedied without presenting new evidence or undertaking additional procedural steps.

"If the factual circumstances remained unchanged and the evidentiary proceedings were not supplemented, a serious question arises as to how the objections that led to the previous judgment being quashed were supposedly addressed," he said.

Delevic further argued that the renewed conviction reflects the first-instance court's lack of courage to acquit Bajrovic in a case where, according to the defense, there is no evidence against him.

He added that the principal witness and the only direct eyewitness to the incident saw Bajrovic at the moment he saved the witness's cousin, which, according to Delevic, was the only act that the witness directly observed and described.

"Such testimony cannot support a finding of guilt; on the contrary, it demonstrates that, at the critical moment, Bajrovic acted by saving the life of a civilian," Delevic said.

He concluded that, for these reasons, the renewed conviction is legally unsustainable.

In the retrial, the Basic Court in Pristina once again found Ekrem Bajrovic guilty and sentenced him to 12 years' imprisonment on charges of war crimes allegedly committed during 1998 and 1999 in the municipality of Istok.