Kosovo police officer again sentenced to three years in prison for shooting Milan Jovanovic in retrial

Kosovo police officer Korab Pepaj was sentenced to three years in prison for the attempted murder of Milan Jovanovic at the Bistrica checkpoint, with the sentence handed down today in a retrial before the Basic Court in North Mitrovica.

In December 2024, Pepaj was sentenced at first instance to three years in prison for attempted murder, with the time he had spent in detention credited toward his sentence. He was acquitted of the charge of tampering with evidence, while Faton Maloku and two other police officers were acquitted of failing to report a criminal offense.

The proceedings were subsequently reopened, and today’s judgment was handed down following the retrial.

On April 10, 2023, Korab Pepaj opened fire at the checkpoint near the Bistrica Bridge, seriously wounding Milan Jovanovic.

In his first statement to Kosovo Online from the hospital in Mitrovica, Jovanovic said that the only people present at the location where he was wounded were members of Kosovo special police units.

He said the incident occurred while he was returning home from Leposavic.

“Last night, on my way back from Leposavic, down in Bistrica where their base is, just after I passed the checkpoint, I heard a gunshot and felt pain in my shoulder. I cannot be 100 percent certain who fired, but I do not believe there was anyone at that base other than their armed forces and police. I heard the glass shatter behind me and in front of me, and frankly, it was frightening. I kept driving and headed home. I made it as far as Saren Kamen, and after that I have no idea what happened, where the car is or who brought me here,” Jovanovic said.