Milorad Djokovic's lawyers: We expect an acquittal

Lawyers representing Milorad Djokovic from Vitomirica, Vasilije Arsic and Dejan Vasic, said after today's hearing that the case, which they described as a marathon proceeding, has reached its conclusion and that they expect an acquittal.

Attorney Vasilije Arsic said that the court had admitted the defense's evidence, but that it remains to be seen how it will interpret it.

He announced that closing arguments in the case will be presented on July 21.

"At today's public hearing, the material evidence submitted by both the prosecution and the defense was examined, and it was agreed with the judge that closing arguments would be prepared in this marathon case, which has been ongoing for four years. As the defense, we raised our objections to the prosecution's evidence. The court rejected some of the evidence and accepted some of it. Likewise, the court accepted the evidence we submitted to support Mr. Djokovic's alibi as material evidence, and we will see how it interprets it in the verdict. We always hope it will be interpreted in our client's favor, but we are now waiting for the judgment," Arsic told reporters.

Attorney Dejan Vasic said that a conviction in Djokovic's case would be a sin not only on the part of the court, but also on the part of the people of Kosovo, given that court judgments are issued in the name of the people.

"I am confident that after hearing the closing arguments by my colleague Vasilije Arsic and myself, the court will reach no other decision than an acquittal. Throughout these proceedings, we have done everything to make that clear to the court and to demonstrate that the witnesses who testified are not credible and that a conviction cannot be based on their testimony. I am also encouraged by certain positions and decisions taken by the presiding judge in this case, which suggest that the proceedings may conclude positively. If Milorad Djokovic were to be convicted, it would be a sin not only for the trial panel but for the entire people in whose name judgments are rendered," Vasic said.

Milorad Djokovic was arrested in June 2022. Until his arrest, he was the only Serb living in Vitomirica, where his house was burned down during the March Pogrom in 2004.

Several years before his arrest, Djokovic initiated legal proceedings against the local authorities in Pec over a plot of land that had previously been granted to him by the municipality, on which he had built his house.