Who’s Who – Sami Lushtaku: Mayor of Srbica, convicted of war crimes then acquitted, on U.S. blacklist

Clinics in the villages of Banje and Suvo Grlo, which had been operating within the Serbian system, were recently closed by the inspection of the Municipality of Srbica with the assistance of the Kosovo Police. The Mayor of Srbica, Sami Lushtaku, stated that he personally ordered the closure of the said clinics.

Lushtaku said that the clinics could be reopened once they are integrated into the Kosovo system. Yesterday, signs bearing Kosovo insignia were placed on the clinics, but employees have not returned to their workplaces.

“After receiving and verifying information, I issued an order to close two family medicine clinics in two settlements with a non-majority Serbian community in Banje and Suvo Grlo, which had begun operating illegally under the administration of parallel Serbian structures, outside the constitutional and legal order of the Republic of Kosovo. What we found was unacceptable: medicines without labels and with expired dates, the use of medical stamps and prescriptions without the presence of a doctor, and numerous other violations contrary to healthcare laws and protocols. This, in addition to being a legal violation, represents a direct threat to the life and health of citizens,” Lushtaku stated on Facebook.

The Serb List and the Director of the Office for Kosovo and Metohija, Petar Petkovic, called on the international community to react, but the EU and the United States have so far not issued any statements regarding the closure of the clinics.

Mayor and Former KLA Commander

The Mayor of Srbica is a prominent member of the Democratic Party of Kosovo (PDK). During 1998 and 1999, he served as a local commander of the Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA) in the Srbica region. He was elected Mayor of Srbica in 2013, the same year an indictment for war crimes was filed against him.

Convicted of War Crimes

In 2015, Lushtaku was sentenced to 12 years’ imprisonment for war crimes against civilians committed in a KLA camp in 1998, as a member of the Drenica Group. While reading the verdict, the presiding judge of the Basic Court in Mitrovica, Dariusz Skrejalicki, stated that Lushtaku had been sentenced to a total of 12 years in prison for deliberately and brutally taking the life of an unidentified Albanian man, approximately 40 years old.

Acquitted After Two Years

Two years after the initial verdict, which had in the meantime been reduced to seven years by the Court of Appeals, he was acquitted of all charges.

“Lushtaku is free as of today. The Supreme Court has annulled the decision of the Mitrovica court, which had sentenced him to 12 years in prison for war crimes committed during 1998 and 1999,” his lawyer Arian Koci stated at the time.

On the U.S. Blacklist

As of 14 February 2025, the United States maintained 398 active sanctions against individuals, companies, and organizations in the Western Balkans. Sami Lushtaku remains on the sanctions list of the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC).

On the December Elections

Following the parliamentary elections in December, Lushtaku stated that the Self-Determination Movement (Vetëvendosje) and its leader Albin Kurti secured victory primarily thanks to the diaspora in Germany, Switzerland, and France.

“This is the decision of those who live in Germany, Switzerland, and France. I do not believe this reflects the opinion and decision of the citizens of Kosovo,” Lushtaku said.