Retrial of Shaqir Lutvija begins; Filipovic: We expect the Basic Court to follow the Court of Appeals' Guidelines

The retrial of former Serbian Interior Ministry (MUP) officer Shaqir Lutvija began at the Basic Court in Pristina after the Court of Appeals overturned the first-instance judgment sentencing him to ten years' imprisonment. Following the hearing, defense attorney Jovana Filipovic expressed hope that the Basic Court would adhere to all the guidelines issued by the appellate court and that the new judgment would be rendered in accordance with the law.

Filipovic explained that, in the case of Lutvija, who was convicted of a war crime, the Court of Appeals accepted all of the defense's arguments.

"The Court of Appeals fully accepted the defense's arguments that the identification procedure had not been conducted in accordance with the law, and that the witnesses identified the perpetrator of the alleged war crime solely by stating that he had a mole on his face, while the only person with a mole was the defendant, Shaqir Lutvija. We argued that there had been another individual at the police station in Prizren who also had a mole and belonged to the same community as Shaqir, but the Basic Court refused to consider our arguments. That has now become one of the principal reasons cited by the Court of Appeals, which the Basic Court is obliged to follow," she said.

She added that there were also disputes regarding Lutvija's role, specifically whether he had served as a uniformed police officer, a plainclothes member of the State Security Service, or a police inspector.

"The wording differs even within the indictment itself. There are also disputes concerning the time and place of the alleged offense, as well as the killing of a man named Ramadani Kupi. We pointed out that even the witnesses themselves testified that his death had not resulted from any act committed by the defendant, Shaqir Lutvija, but rather by another individual who, according to their testimony, had arrived from the town. Nevertheless, as we have seen, the first-instance judgment found Shaqir guilty of that act, which cannot be reconciled with the facts established during the proceedings," Filipovic stated.

She stressed that, following the appellate ruling, these were no longer merely defense arguments but binding guidelines that the Basic Court should observe during the retrial.

"We will see how, and to what extent, those guidelines issued by the Court of Appeals will be implemented and what the outcome of these retrial proceedings will be. Today we delivered our opening statement. We saw that the court was unwilling to hear the witnesses again, nor was any documentary evidence presented anew. The procedural situation is entirely the same as it was last year when the first-instance judgment was delivered," Filipovic said.

The next hearing has been scheduled for 22 July, when the defendant's testimony and the parties' closing arguments are expected.

"We hope that, by the conclusion of these proceedings, the Basic Court will recognize and follow all the guidelines issued by the Court of Appeals and that the judgment in this retrial will be in accordance with the law," Filipovic said.

The Basic Court in Pristina sentenced Shaqir Lutvija on 11 November last year to ten years' imprisonment for the criminal offense of a war crime against the civilian population.

On 23 July, the Court of Appeals quashed that judgment and remanded the case for a retrial, finding that the first-instance decision contained substantial violations of criminal procedure and insufficient reasoning regarding key factual findings.

Shaqir Lutvija has been in detention since October 2023. According to the indictment, he is charged with violating international law and committing a war crime against the civilian population in Prizren during the period from 1998 to 1999.