Trial of Nadica Cepkenovic continues; Filipovic: Investigation conducted against the wrong individuals

The trial of Nadica Cepkenovic, whom the prosecution accuses of committing a war crime against the civilian population while serving as a prison guard in Lipljan and Pristina, continued today before the Basic Court in Pristina with the examination of a prosecution witness.

At today’s hearing, the third witness in the case against Nadica Cepkenovic was heard.

Defense attorney Jovana Filipovic said that the defense had pointed out at today’s hearing that the investigation in the case had not been conducted in accordance with the rules, but had instead been directed against the wrong individuals.

“We were able to establish that today. The witness who allegedly identified the defendants in the identification record was unable to repeat their names during the main trial. We even presented one identification record in which the witness confirmed that the person shown in the photograph under which she had signed was not the person she had identified,” Filipovic told Kosovo Online.

She expressed hope that the trial panel would take those facts into consideration. She added that there was also a problem concerning influence on witnesses.

“As a rule, after witnesses fail to identify the defendants in the police record as the persons who mistreated them, their testimony changes before the court, that is, during the main trial. So far, we have not seen the prosecution respond to the defense’s appeals or take any measures or initiate proceedings against individuals who have changed their testimony,” she said.

The indictment against Nadica Cepkenovic alleges that, during the 1998–1999 period, while working as a guard at the women’s prison in Lipljan, she systematically abused Albanian female prisoners in complicity with other prison officers.

In April last year, Kosovo Police arrested three prison guards in Lipljan and Pristina on the same day.
Nadica Cepkenovic and Boban Tonic were arrested in Lipljan, while M.I. was arrested in Pristina.