The trial of Dragan Ristic begins; Filipovic: He denied all allegations, identity mix-up at issue

Before the Special Department of the Basic Court in Pristina today, with opening statements, the trial began for Dragan Ristic, who is accused of committing a war crime against the civilian population in Djakovica during the conflict in Kosovo, which he denied.

Ristic is charged with committing a war crime against the civilian population between 7 and 10 May 1999, and according to attorney Jovana Filipovic, the charges include killings, expulsion, looting, and separating the population.

After the prosecutor read the indictment, Ristic, as he did during the preparatory hearing in the summer, pleaded not guilty to the acts he is accused of.

Filipovic said that the defense points out that the prosecution is looking for another person, but that the Special Prosecutor’s Office did not respond to the request to collect evidence in order to establish the identity of the accused.

“He denied all allegations from the beginning. We claim that the prosecution is looking for an entirely different person who would possibly fit the description in the indictment. However, we have not received any response from the Special Prosecutor’s Office of Kosovo regarding the request to collect certain evidence. The prosecution should have done that first to confirm the identity of the accused, as well as the credibility and reliability of the witness statements given during the investigation,” Filipovic said.

She added that the court was asked to order an expert evaluation to determine whether the accused is capable of following the court proceedings.

“Considering that the person charged has shown a certain degree of dementia before the court, as he has in the past, and given that he was born in 1949 and has difficulty managing, a request was submitted for an expert evaluation so that medical professionals can conclusively tell us whether he can follow the proceedings or not. At this stage, we are waiting for that evaluation to be ordered, and depending on its outcome, we will know in which direction the procedure will continue,” Filipovic said.

The next hearings in the case against Ristic are scheduled for 30 January and 3 February of next year.

Dragan Ristic was arrested on 25 February at the Jarinje crossing when he and his son were traveling to Djakovica to extend the validity of his documents.