Miljkovic: Prosecution's claims disassembled; Terrorism charge reserved for select individuals only

Defense attorney Predrag Miljkovic, representing Milun Milenkovic, stated that in their closing arguments the defense had fully dismantled the prosecution’s claims, stressing that none of the allegations from the indictment had been substantiated. He further argued that the terrorism charge appears to be a legal qualification applied selectively to certain individuals.

“We thoroughly analyzed the entire body of evidence and dismantled all claims made by the prosecution. You have seen for yourselves that it is untrue that Milun had any communications, that he uttered certain phrases, that he led any brigades or units — these were planted statements. You also saw that forensic analysis proved his phone was empty and that no correspondence could have been extracted from an empty phone. Yet they still chose to include this in the indictment and to charge him further. You also saw that it was never proven that any of the accused committed any act of execution — none of them threw any explosive device at the MEC office. Nor was their presence at the scene that day established, to say nothing more,” said Miljkovic.

He emphasized that Kosovo had witnessed numerous protests over the past decade. Referring to past events in the Assembly and Government during which tear gas and Molotov cocktails were used, Miljkovic underlined that the charge of terrorism seems to be selectively applied.

“In one part of the indictment, it is stated that the accused allegedly destabilized the constitutional and political structures of Kosovo by means of the attack and that event. I remind you, this was one of hundreds of protests that have taken place in Kosovo over the last ten years. In 2015, tear gas was released in the Kosovo Assembly six times. Tear gas is a weapon under the law. During the protest on January 9, 2016, more than 40 police officers and an unknown number of civilians were injured. Around 30 people were arrested. During the March 2015 protests, 73 people were injured — 44 of them were police officers. Protesters threw Molotov cocktails, tear gas, and smoke bombs at the Assembly and Government buildings. Yet no one was charged with terrorism. Other criminal offenses were brought forward, but not terrorism. It seems that terrorism is a legal qualification reserved only for certain groups and individuals,” Miljkovic stated.

He stressed that the prosecution does not possess a single valid piece of evidence proving Milun Milenkovic’s guilt.

The delivery of final arguments in the case against Milenkovic, Dejan Pantic, Aleksandar Vlajic, and Miomir Vakic was interrupted today due to high temperatures in the courtroom. The continuation has been scheduled for 25 July, while the verdict is expected three days later.