Miljkovic: Appeals Court overturned verdict against Srdjan Lazovic and ordered a retrial

Attorney Predrag Miljkovic stated that the Appeals Court in Pristina upheld the defense appeal, overturned the first-instance verdict against Srdjan Lazovic from Leposavic for war crimes against the civilian population, and returned the case for a retrial.

"The Appeals Court in Pristina overturned the first-instance judgment of the Special Department of the Basic Court in Pristina in the case against Srdjan Lazovic and returned the proceedings for a retrial. In the first-instance verdict, Srdjan was sentenced to 12 years and six months in prison, despite expert findings that indicated otherwise," Miljkovic told Kosovo Online. 

He noted that all arguments presented in the defense appeal had been fully accepted. 

In February this year, the Basic Court in Pristina found Srdjan Lazovic guilty of war crimes against the civilian population in the area of Malisevo during the Kosovo conflict and sentenced him to 12 years and six months in prison. 

When delivering the verdict, the judge stated that Lazovic had participated in the arrest, mistreatment, and expulsion of Albanian civilians, as well as in the looting and destruction of property. At the time, however, Miljkovic also pointed out that this was yet another verdict that had no connection with what had actually been established during the trial, adding that the defense had proven beyond any doubt that Lazovic was not the person who had been in Panorc on September 3, 1998.

Lazovic was arrested on June 27 last year in Leposavic while returning with his family from Raska and has remained in detention ever since.