Lawyer Arsic: The prosecution did not provide strong material evidence to prove Djokovic's guilt

The defense attorney of Milorad Djokovic from Vitomirica, who is accused of alleged war crimes, lawyer Vasilije Arsic, stated after today's witness hearing that the defense's assessment was that the prosecution had not provided strong material evidence to prove Djokovic's guilt.

In the presence of the accused Milorad Djokovic and lawyers Vasilije Arsic and Dejan A. Vasic, today the evidentiary process of hearing prosecution witnesses began before the Special Department of the Basic Court in Pristina.

"The prosecution accuses Djokovic of participating in the murder of 14 civilians in the village of Ozdrim in May 1999. According to the defense, we believe that the prosecution did not provide strong material evidence to prove the guilt of the accused Djokovic. On the other hand, the defense has its own concept, which we believe will be difficult to achieve, because a larger number of witnesses are in central Serbia and Montenegro. Additionally, the prosecution relies on several witnesses in the investigation who have not been heard, and for that reason, we believe that the investigation was not sufficiently well conducted to prove the basis of the indictment. The process is ongoing, and as the defense, we will do everything to defend Djokovic against the charges," lawyer Vasilije Arsic said.

The impression, Arsic emphasizes, is that suspicion arose against Djokovic when he started resolving his property rights.

"What is interesting about Djokovic is that this case was initiated in 2017, while he has been a returnee to Vitomirica since 2008. He is the only Serb who returned to Vitomirica and lived in his house there, and from 2008 to 2017, he had no problems regarding accusations, despite the event dating back to 1999. The impression is that when he started resolving his property rights in Kosovo when he reclaimed land and built a house, suspicion arose that he committed war crimes. So, there is an impression of tendencies," Arsic concluded.

Djokovic was arrested in June 2022.

A year after his arrest, Djokovic pleaded not guilty to the charges against him during the trial.

Until his arrest, Djokovic was the only Serb living in Vitomirica, where his house was burned down during the March 2004 riots.

Several years before his arrest, Djokovic initiated a legal process with the local authorities in Pec regarding a plot of land he had received from the municipality and where he had built a house. Despite a final court decision, the house was never re-registered in Djokovic's name.

In the meantime, Djokovic received news while in prison that his house had been demolished.