Lawyers: There is no reasonable doubt that the arrested Serbs committed the criminal offenses they are charged with

Lawyers for the Serbs from Pasjane, who were arrested today by the Kosovo police, stated after a hearing at the Basic Court in Pristina that they proposed to the court the measures of house arrest or bail, and emphasized that there is no reasonable doubt that the five Serbs committed the criminal offenses they are charged with by the Prosecution.

Lawyer Vasilije Arsic announced that an investigation has been initiated against eight Serbs who are suspected of alleged war crimes.

"An investigation has been initiated for eight suspects for war crimes. I am the lawyer for Dragan Nicic, who is accused of the criminal offenses of murder and the arson of an Albanian civilian. Based on the Prosecution's evidence, we believe there are no elements of the criminal offense of war crimes, but we will see what the investigation will show. The Prosecution has evidence that they have not presented to us and are keeping it secret. Today's hearing was for the determination of detention measures; we, as the defense, proposed the possibility of bail of 10,000 euros and the measure of house arrest," said Arsic.

As he added, it is now up to the court to make a decision.

"We presented our reasons that the suspicion is not well-founded, that the suspects live in Kosovo, that they will not influence witnesses, and we proposed bail as a guarantee to refute the Prosecution's allegations. We also pointed out that it is common practice for those suspected to immediately receive rigorous detention measures, measures that do not achieve their purpose but only complicate the lives of people, such as those who are detained because they are over 65 years old and in poor health. We will see what the judge decides," said Arsic.

The defender of Dragan Cvetkovic, lawyer Jovana Filipovic, emphasized that all the arrested are over 65 years old and live in Kosovo.

"During his interrogation at the police station, he was not informed of the criminal offenses he is charged with or the specific events. Regarding Cvetkovic, as well as the other co-accused, I can freely say that there is no risk of flight and that there is no reasonable doubt that they committed the criminal offenses they are charged with, especially because these are people over 65 years old, all living in Kosovo. If they had committed these serious offenses, they certainly would not have lived in Kosovo for the next 25 years," said Filipovic.

As she mentioned, this is yet another case where witnesses report a certain event after 25 years.

"The question we, as defenders, ask in every war crime case is why witnesses only remember a specific event after 25 years and why it takes 25 years for a report to be made. All these individuals still live in Kosovo, they reside here daily, and they have given their promise to the court that they will attend every hearing and will not flee," she added.

She emphasized that the arrested individuals are in poor health and that it is therefore necessary for the court to impose the measure of house arrest.

"We have proposed that the measure of house arrest be imposed, the measure of bail, or even both measures, if deemed necessary, primarily because they are all in poor health. We have presented the court with medical reports and pointed out the case of the late Ilija Elezovic, who was in detention for several months and was released after several months of detention only to pass away with his family. We reminded the court of this case to prevent a repetition," concluded Filipovic.

Today, the Kosovo police arrested five Serbs in Pasjane.