Vlajic: Only those who are desperate or deeply uninformed hope for justice in Kosovo

Lawyer Nebojsa Vlajic says that only those who are desperate or deeply uninformed hope for justice in Kosovo, as well as that it is impossible to defend someone before the courts in Kosovo, because, as he states, they do not care about arguments, RTS reports.

Vlajic, speaking about the arrested Serbs, points out that no Serb should be left defenseless, but also that it is important to say publicly that there was no attack on journalists from Pristina.

He states that the Serbs in Kosovo live in institutionalized terror, which is presented as if it is necessary, and as something that is in the interest of all communities.

"That is far from the truth. I live in Kosovo, I was born in Kosovska Mitrovica, and the situation has never been worse and tenser. People feel it, there is constant insecurity, and most of these things come directly from Pristina," Vlajic adds.

He indicates that the international community is not reacting.

"I think that some solutions must be found, but I don't see that they are close," Vlajic points out.

When asked if it was possible to defend people if the institutions in Pristina rejected all evidence, Vlajic said that it was impossible to defend someone before the courts in Kosovo.

"I am someone who, according to my vocation, would have to believe in the judiciary. I still believe in it, I have not lost my ideals, but I see how the judiciary works in Kosovo. Only those who are desperate or who are deeply uninformed hope for justice in Kosovo. It is impossible to defend someone before the courts in Kosovo because they simply do not care about arguments. They will let you say whatever you want, in order to preserve the semblance of a fair procedure, but the decision was made a long time ago," Vlajic says.

Speaking about what the strategy is for the defense of the Serbs who are now in custody, Vlajic says that the strategy is such that "none of our men must be left defenseless".

"And it won't stay, all the lawyers who work here give their best to help those people, and sometimes we are more than defense attorneys for them, sometimes we are like family members. This must be done and constantly highlighted. I believe that one day the time will come when those arguments will be recognized," Vlajic points out.

Vlajic is the defender of the arrested Milun Lune Milenkovic, who is charged with terrorism, attack on persons under international protection, KFOR, as well as the Kosovo Police.

"Lune also has another defense attorney who is taking action in that procedure, and I am sure that everything that can be done has already been done in that procedure. However, there has been a 30-day detention order and it will not be possible to do much at the moment," Vlajic adds.

He points out that other cases are also important, but that his case is the one with the most serious charges.

"There are cases of the first two arrested, Petrovic and Obrenovic, where there is also no evidence that these people committed criminal acts, just as there is no evidence for alleged attacks on journalists from Pristina. We have no reason to attack journalists, especially those from Pristina. We want that our truth is heard right in Pristina, and that's why we need Albanian journalists," Vlajic emphasizes.

He also states that people in Kosovo are bothered by the tendency of those journalists and reporting only on what they want.

"Highlighting bad examples, if there are any, and exaggerating the whole case. So, there is no attack on journalists and that must be said publicly," Vlajic says.

Before the demonstrations, Milovan Bozovic from Zubin Potok was also arrested, who is charged with serious crimes.

"He was accused of the most serious crimes, of participating in organized crime, and the essence of that organized crime is opposition to the authorities from Pristina. They consider the Serbs as enemies, and they have to declare someone a leader or a participant in it. That's exactly what happened to Bozovic. There is no evidence for what he is accused of, and he has been in custody for the third month already," Vlajic adds.

Pristina's strategy is also to deal with the political representatives of the Serbs from Kosovo. The former mayor of Leposavic, Zoran Todic, and member of the Presidency of the Serb List, Slavko Simic, were targeted by Pristina, which accuses them of being the leaders of a criminal group in Leposavic and of organizing people who prevented the meeting of the newly elected mayor with company directors.

"These accusations are not naive at all. It is not the political position of the minister who said it, so let's say that it is in some sense permissible. It is a direct abuse of his official position. He is accusing people who are the political leaders of that nation, that man was a member of parliament or was the previous mayor of Leposavic. Normally, they are political leaders. They are political leaders regardless of whether Pristina likes that person or not," Vlajic said.

He also says that accusing them, without any evidence, of leading criminal groups is a direct order and pressure on the judiciary, a direct order for arrest, and something that causes insecurity among the entire community.

"If an ordinary man sees that someone he trusts, a politician, no matter what can be arrested, can be accused like that, then what will he think what will happen to him? Of course, even worse," Vlajic said.

He emphasizes that there is no punishment for attacking children who can be shot and the culprit will not go to jail, children who drive quads on the country or forest roads and are brutally beaten.

"Why those Albanian journalists don’t come to the hospital in Kosovska Mitrovica to film those children, and then the police can tell us that it is a fake event and that it is fabricated. Nothing is fabricated. Albanian journalists and the Albanian public in Pristina do not see the tears of their mother Marija; they don't see the pain and suffering of those children and the destroyed childhood, no one sees that. And whenever the police are accused of abusing their position, they say that they are not guilty. They didn't even shoot at the man in the car, and after two days it was proven that they did," Vlajic concluded.

With the request to release all the arrested, the Serbs will gather today at 1 p.m. in North Mitrovica, and before that in Leposavic, and have another protest march.